How Do You Feel About Millet?

Frankly, I wasn't sure how I felt about millet.  Millet?  Millet is not a sexy grain.  Millet is not even a grain I've ever thought much about.  But grains are the new "it" food, and I don't like to feel left out of a food trend.

There's an interesting story to these millet muffins.  My friend Mona, who is as much of a foodie as I am, was telling me that her husband had the most delicious millet muffin while on a college trip with their daughter.  It was from the Metropolitan Bakery in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.  She said that we had to figure out how to make this muffin.

Now, I'm not one to reinvent the wheel so I checked in with by good friend Google. Low and behold, up popped the recipe for the Metropolitan Bakery Millet Muffin.

I, who was not overwhelmed by the idea of a millet muffin, am now a true believer.  These don't have that twigs and nuts texture that so many whole grain muffins have.  What they do have is an earthy flavor (which is different than a twiggy texture) that is so satisfying.  And good for you too.

Recipe:  Metropolitan Millet Muffins
(James Barrett, Co-Owner/Baker, Metropolitan Bakery, Philadelphia PA)

Note:  This is a great recipe to make the night before (up to adding the flour mixture) so that you can have fresh muffins ready in a jiffy the next morning. 

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:


1 cup millet
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter 12 1/2 cup muffin cups.

On a baking sheet toast millet in one layer in the oven until lightly golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool millet completely.

Into a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the millet. In another small bowl stir together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Set aside. Cream well the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Alternately beat in the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Do not over beat.

Spoon batter into prepared cups and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool muffins 5 minutes before turning out. Serve warm or room temperature with fruit preserves.