We have all had at least one, I hope, and some have been blessed with many. What? Why wonderful teachers, of course! Our daughter had the opportunity to experience English and grammar from a remarkable teacher who is devoted to her students and teaches with a passion. During the 2 years that she was able to receive instruction from Molly Totoro, my husband and I commented on several occasions that we wished we could have been so fortunate to have such an excellent English teacher. Mrs. Totoro made reading, writing and grammar come alive.
My heart skipped a beat when I recently read Mrs. Totoro’s blog. She featured a family favorite muffin. The reason for the heart skip was the source of this family favorite. Mrs. Totoro credited the book Mostly Muffins that was co authored by Barbara Albright. Barbara was a professional colleague and a kindred spirit that I admired. My recollection of Barbara from meeting her at professional meetings was that she was one special lady, always with a smile and a zest for life. Barbara was inducted into the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame. It was a deep loss in the food world, when Barbara passed away from a brain tumor at the young age of 51 in 2006.
I baked these muffins one spring afternoon to honor two very talented, dedicated professional women that have touched my life. These muffins were wonderful tidbits and I savored the goodness of great writers over my afternoon cup of tea and treasured life’s memories. I shied away from the 2 to 2 ½ teaspoons espresso powder thinking that it would be a deal breaker for my family’s tastes. Wrong! Next time I will definitely bake with more espresso powder.
By the way, this recipe quickly became one that my family adores too.
I hope you will bake and enjoy!
Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons espresso powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup whole milk
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and allowed to cool slightly
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray mini muffin pans with nonstick spray.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together milk, butter, egg and vanilla in a medium bowl.
Make a deep well in the flour mixture and add the liquid mixture. Stir until just combined making sure not to over mix.
Fill mini muffin tins about ¾ full. Bake for about 11 to 12 minutes. Allow to stand in pan for 5 minutes then carefully remove to a cooling rack to completely cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Makes about 32 mini muffins.
This was adapted from Mostly Muffins by Barbara Albright and Leslie Weiner and from The Totoro Family Recipe Collection.
