fruit-filled scuffins.

Hybrids are the latest food trend.  The most famous hybrid being the Cronut which has the whole country in a tizzy.  Months after it's initial incarnation, lines still form outside Dominique Ansel starting before sunrise as tourists and New Yorker's alike wait for one of the famous croissant-doughnut hybrids.  I was lucky enough to try one (thanks Jen Sharp!) and while it was delightful, I don't have the patience to wait hours for such a thing.  I don't like waiting and I don't like lines especially when I am hungry.  

Now that Cronuts have become so famous, hybrids have been popping up all over the place.  The doughnoli, the dangle, the cruffin, and my new favorite the scuffin (the scone-muffin duh)!  I became acquainted with the scuffin a few weeks back when the NYTimes ran an article about the different pastry hybrids.  This particular version caught my eye since making them and then eating them didn't seem like it was going to send me into cardiac arrest right after.  

I made them yesterday morning thinking I would have breakfast for the week.  Instead, Tyler ate 4 1/2 of them in the span 7 hours so it's safe to say the are a crowd pleaser.  They are ridiculously satisfying (something about that hidden pocket of jam) and incredibly filling (rye flour!) which is why they make for the most perfect weekday breakfast.  That and the name is really fun to say.

Fruit-Filled Scuffins
Recipe via the NYTimes

I umm forgot to add the flaxseed meal/wheat germ and if you do the same (or don't have any on hand) it wont be the end of the world.  I think having it would make it a little nuttier and more filling which is always a good thing (especially when these are being consumed for breakfast).  I was also out of whole-wheat flour so I replaced it with rye and that swap works brilliantly especially when paired with apricot-peach jam.  The spices in here can be adapted to whatever you like (the original recipe called for cardamon instead of ginger) so use what makes sense with the jam of your choice!

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 ounces), plus 1 tablespoon for buttering muffin cups

1 cup whole-wheat or rye flour (4 1/2 ounces)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (3 ounces)

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal or wheat germ (1 ounce)

3 tablespoons light brown or raw sugar (2 ounces), plus extra for sprinkling

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of cloves

1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

1 egg

1/3 cup whole milk

1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half

3/4 cup fruit jam, conserves, preserves or fruit butter (do not use jelly or marmalade)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a microwave or over very gentle heat. Using a pastry brush, butter the cups of a standard-size (3 1/2-ounce-capacity) 12-cup muffin tin. Let each coat of butter cool, then apply another coat; continue until the 2 tablespoons are all used.

In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Meanwhile, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter, add to dry ingredients and mix with a fork until just combined.

In another bowl, whisk together egg, milk and cream. Add to dry ingredients and mix to combine (the dough will be quite sticky).

Reserving about a quarter of the dough for topping, scoop 2 tablespoons dough into each cup. Using the back of a spoon, press dough gently down into the cups. The dough will move up the sides, and there should be a shallow well in each dough cup. Don’t worry if the dough doesn’t come all the way up to the top; there should be about 1/2 inch of space between the top of the dough and the rim of the cup.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon jam into each well. Using your fingers, pinch remaining dough into small clumps and scatter evenly over the jam in each cup, making a bumpy topping. Sprinkle sugar over the tops.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until browned. Let cool in the pan on a rack; run a blade around the sides of each scuffin before turning out.