Speaking of getting creative, I had almost a full bag of pistachios hanging around my kitchen for a few weeks and felt like making something yummy out of them today. I searched and searched online, and finally found an amazing pistachio muffin recipe! I tweaked the recipe slightly {I always do that with baking..teehee} and added some almond extract to make these extra nutty...They turned out beautifully! Here's the tweaked recipe below, and enjoy!
Pistachio Breakfast Muffins
INGREDIENTS
1 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup pistachios, finely chopped
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped for top of muffins
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare the muffin tins by greasing them well.
1. Combine the dry ingredients including the zest and finely chopped pistachios in a large bowl.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together, and beat the eggs, one at a time, into the creamed mixture until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
3. Starting with about 1/4 of the dry mixture, alternately add part of the dry ingredients and the milk, briefly mixing after each addition. Do not over-mix the batter.
4. Scoop the batter into the prepared tins. Sprinkle the tops with the coarsely chopped pistachios. Place the muffins in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes or until the muffin tests done. {with a toothpick!} After the muffins have cooled for 5 minutes, remove from the tins to cool on a wire rack. Makes 10 large muffins.
