First off, Happy Friday!! Can you believe Valentine’s Day is tomorrow?
Since I’m sure you all have your dinner plans made (if not, try this for dessert, this if you’re looking for something hearty and this if all you want is to curl up with a bowl of deliciousness) I decided to share a brunch recipe that would be perfect for breakfast in bed. After making that delicious pesto for my lemon pesto pasta, I had a bit leftover and decided to create a savory muffin that would be perfect for brunch or served alongside your favorite meal! They are a popover-meets-muffin that I am calling “puffins”!
They’re filled with cheese, garlic, and a creamy pesto and and seriously the best muffins (or, I guess puffins) I have EVER had. In fact, I ate the entire batch myself and have zero regrets. They were totally worth it!
Now, if making the pesto seems like too much work, you can buy store made BUT it won’t be as good (what can I say, I’m biased). If you do decide to make your own (good call) the recipe is in this post but I will include it below, too so you don’t have to go back and forth.
The awesome thing about these puffins is that they have the outer shell of a muffin (muffin tops episode of Seinfeld, anyone?) but the buttery smooth inside of a popover. I mean, that’s pretty much the holy grail of the muffin world, right?
And while they might be buttery soft, a spread of butter takes these over the top. And I can only imagine how delicious these would be served up with some warm soup. Ugh, I’m hungry just thinking about it!
Now tell me, what are your weekend plans? I know I am looking forward to spending some time with my family but, I would love to hear all about your awesome plans 🙂
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup grated american yellow cheese
- 2 cups flour (I used all purpose)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1.5 tsp. baking powder
- ½ cup pesto (I made mine from this recipe)
- tulip paper liners (if you don't have these, feel free to use cupcake liners or a well greased muffin tin)
- Pesto (this will make more than you need, so feel free to halve the recipe or use it in another dish!)
- The juice of 1 lemon
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 1 cup packed basil
- (I also used about 3 tbs. pine nuts but, this is totally optional)
- 4 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1.5 tsp. salt
- In a large bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients (excluding the pesto) and mix together until well combined.
- Slowly add the flour and fork together until just combined.
- Line a cupcake tin with tulip liners (or cupcake liners) and fill about ¾ full.
- To make the pesto, simply combine all of the pesto ingredients in the food processor and pulse together until smooth.
- Take a chopstick and dip in the pesto mixture, dip into the muffins and gently swirl through the mixture (I did this about 2-3 times with each muffin).
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes at 350.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm with fresh butter!
This looks delightful.
I have no idea what we are doing for Valentines Day.
My husband has been gone all this week so my focus us just making it through the week. We have our last fruit tree pruning class up in Portland on Saturday which (again) leaves only Saturday to get stuff done.
I’m sure I’ll cook something and hopefully get a dessert made.
Time is not plentiful on the farm this February 🙁
Oh no! Well definitely bake yourself a dessert! After a hard week, you deserve it!
Aubrie, these look heavenly!!! I don’t have any special plan for tomorrow but I’m sure I’m going to cook something delicious. Perhaps these cuties!! We’re a sucker for anything cheese. Hope you have a great time with your family.
Thanks, Oriana! And I want to hear what you make! Have a good Valentine’s Day!
Puffins, you should coin that! Definitely trying those x
Haha I obviously meant to say, trademark pending 😉 Let me know how they work out for you, Mariana!
Ooo those look AMAZING and so savory! And I love all the flavors, it sounds SO delicious! Pinned 🙂
Love the idea of the swirly pesto! Did you make the tulip liners out of parchment paper squares? Or did you buy them?
I cheated and bought them! I actually found them at World Market and knew I had to create a recipe around them! But I’ve seen tons of tutorials on making them with parchment, so I’m sure that would work just as well!
I love the look of these (and their name – so cute!)
Pesto is one of my favourite things – it smells amazing and makes everything taste delicious!
xx Hannah
http://www.eatingwithalice.com
Hi, Hannah! Thanks for dropping by 🙂 Let me know if you try them!
Love these cute little puffins! Love Everything about it: the garlic, the cheese, the pesto and the name!! Would you mind sharing where you get the tulip liners?
Thank you! And of course! I found mine at World Market (the one in Fair Lakes) but I think I’ve also seen them at Sur La Table!
Really? Awesome! I’ll try World Market first, since I basically live at the Home Goods store in that shopping center. Can’t wait to try out a few of your recipes, as soon as spring break is over.