Everything muffins

I love these not-too-sweet muffins, inspired by the everything muffin served at Wild Eggs in Louisville. Less like an everything bagel and more like a soft, savory scone, they are a subtly subversive delight for brunch or even dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (OR 3/4 teaspoon table salt OR 1 teaspoon Morton’s kosher salt)
• 1/3 cup neutral-tasting oil or melted butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Use butter, oil or nonstick cooking spray to grease 9 cups of a muffin/cupcake pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, poppy seeds, onion and salt.
3. In a small bowl or mixing cup, add oil, milk and egg, and use a fork mix until egg is well combined.
4. Pour liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (don’t overmix). Use a spatula to make sure dry ingredients at the bottom of the bowl get mixed in. Batter will be thick and sticky.
5. Spoon the batter evenly into the 9 greased muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake about 15 minutes, until muffins are slightly golden on top and spring back to the touch (or test with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean). Gently pop the muffins out of the pan with a table knife or the small end of a chopstick (bamboo is gentler on a nonstick pan). Serve immediately.

Notes

• For a lighter, bouncier muffin texture, use 2/3 cup milk. This will give you a smooth-topped, more cupcake-like muffin instead of the textured top and denser crumb of this scone-ish one.
• If you don’t have dried onion flakes, substitute 3 tablespoons of finely minced fresh onion.
• I love buttermilk in baked goods, which gives a little boost in flavor and moistness. If you have buttermilk or plain yogurt on hand, try making these two substitutions: 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder plus 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (instead of 2 teaspoons baking powder) and 1/2 cup buttermilk, OR 1/4 cup plain yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup milk (instead of 1/3 cup regular milk).
• Pros say you can eke out more lift in your muffins if you start them at 400 degrees F and finish at a lower temperature. I’ve accidentally over-browned too many baked goods in hot ovens, so I prefer a temperature that gives me a little more wiggle room.
• The Wild Eggs muffin is very subtle compared to an everything bagel. For a more intense experience, you could add sesame seeds and dried garlic flakes in addition to the poppy and onion.

Here’s a link back to the post and pictures.