Spiced Glogg Muffins
Did you make glogg yet? I hope you did...but if not, there's still plenty of winter left to enjoy it! And if you're thinking that all those raisins and almonds will go to waste after they've soaked in the brandy, wine and port, have no fear! They're perfect in breakfast treats like scones, quick breads and muffins. (In case you missed it, click here for the glogg recipe I'm referring to.)
After I make glogg, I strain out the spices, almonds, raisins and other mix-ins. If I'm not ready to do anything with them yet, I throw it all in a zip top bag and stick it in the fridge or freezer (although it's all been soaked in alcohol long enough that there's probably not much chance of anything going bad). When I'm ready to bake, I spread all the mix-ins out on a cookie sheet and quickly pick out the stuff I don't want - like cinnamon sticks, chunks of ginger and pieces of orange peel. I'm basically looking to hold onto the raisins and almonds, which eventually find their way into these Spiced Glogg Muffins.
If you're not much of a glogg drinker, you can take a handful of raisins and blanched almonds and soak them in brandy, wine or port for anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight. Then, just strain out the alcohol when you're ready to bake...and try not to snack too much on the boozy fruit and nuts before they make it into the batter!
Spiced Glogg Muffins
Yields 12 regular-sized muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup sour cream
½ cup milk
1 egg
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 cup of glogg-soaked almonds and raisins*
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a regular sized muffin tin, or use paper muffin cups.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, egg and butter.
Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Gently stir in the glogg-soaked almonds and raisins until full incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly in the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
*You can substitute the glogg-soaked almonds and raisins for other mix-ins like dark chocolate chunks, dried cranberries or chopped walnuts.
