Vanilla Bean
Warm, soft, slightly molasses-forward. The everyday muffin, elevated.
The basic rule here is, there are no rules.
But here are a few anyway.
Dry additions into dry mix
Wet additions into wet mix
Add wet into dry and mix
Rub zests into sugar
Inclusions last, up to one cup
Lumps in mix are acceptable
Be inspired. Nothing here is fussy.
Vanilla Bean Riffs
Start with the Vanilla Bean base.
The riffs below are flavor ideas built from that one mix: seasonal, flexible, and meant to be played with. Pick the one that sounds good, use the notes, and make it yours.
Welcome to summer. Summer is for showing off the fruit, and for us that means strawberries, barely held together, with a twist of basil.
Strawberry + Basil
Quartered strawberries, torn basil. Add a dollop of cream cheese or mascarpone if you want to be completely decadent.
Blueberry + Lemon Zest
Zest before juicing, the oils are where the flavor lives.
Rub the zest into the sugar, fold in a cup of blueberries last. No other changes.
Cardamom + Orange
Cardamom wakes up the sweetness without taking over.
A teaspoon of cardamom in the dry mix, orange zest in the sugar. If you add the juice, cut the milk by two tablespoons.
Brown Butter + Sea Salt
Browned butter smells like toasted hazelnuts and tastes like more.
Brown the butter, cool it, use it in place of the oil one for one. Flaky salt on top, not in.
Stone Fruit + Thyme
Peaches, plums, apricots, whatever's ripe.
A teaspoon of thyme leaves in the batter, a cup of diced fruit folded last. Cut the milk by two tablespoons, ripe fruit brings its own.
Almond + Apricot Jam
A little amaretto and a hidden pocket of jam.
Swap two tablespoons of the milk for amaretto. Spoon jam into the center of each before baking, don't stir it in.
Banana + Walnut + Honey
Banana bread's lighter cousin.
Mash one ripe banana into the wet mix and cut the milk by three tablespoons. Toasted walnuts on top, honey drizzled while warm.
Raspberry + White Chocolate
Tart and sweet, the grown-up version of a kid's favorite.
Fold in a cup of fresh raspberries and chopped white chocolate last. No other changes.
Coconut + Lime
A little tropical, a little bright.
Lime zest in the sugar, a half cup of toasted coconut in the dry mix. Add the lime juice and cut the milk by two tablespoons.
Maple + Pecan
Breakfast, basically.
Swap three tablespoons of the milk for maple syrup. Toasted pecans folded in and scattered on top.
Earl Grey + Vanilla
Steeped tea in the crumb, quietly floral.
Warm the milk, steep two tea bags ten minutes, then cool before mixing. Scrape in a vanilla bean. No other liquid changes.