Alabama Biscuit Muffins
Makes 1 dozen muffins
Craig Claiborne, who was born and raised in Sunflower,
Mississippi, used to tell me that the biscuit muffins I so raved about were
a specialty of his home state--and that his mother's muffins were well known
throughout the land. No doubt Craig meant what he said, the only problem
being that I personally have never encountered biscuit muffins in
Mississippi. ("That's because you haven't been to the right places in
Mississippi," snapped my friend Julia Reed, who's from
Greenville.) I have, on the other hand, had the muffins on a number of
occasions over in Alabama, most notably at a fancy country club brunch in
Montgomery and at a college friend's mother's home in Tuscaloosa. No matter.
Let's just say that biscuit muffins are a very distinctive bread of the Deep
South and that the slightly sweet little dodgers are even more sumptuous
when spread with homemade preserves at breakfast.
2 1 / 2 cups all-purpose
flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 / 4 teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons (1 1 / 4
sticks) chilled butter, cut into bits 1 cup regular buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter and set
aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder,
salt, and baking soda. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your
fingertips till the mixture is mealy. Add the buttermilk and stir till the
dough is slightly firm. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tin and
bake in the center of the oven till brown and crusty, 40 to 45 minutes.
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