Muffins

Muffins straddle a line between cake and bread. They’re not as sweet as a cupcake, but there’s no such thing as a muffin that is savory. Even carrot muffins are more like carrot cake than rabbit roughage. Muffins are almost always a breakfast pastry, except for pint-size “gem muffins” that find their way into a bread basket at lunch. Most people are seriously biased as to which part of a muffin is the best. Some go for the soft stump, in which any participating fruit is at its juiciest and chocolate is molten; others want the top, which offers crunch and the excitement of verging on a burnt edge. The other big issue of muffin appreciation is whether or not it should be grilled. No doubt, it’s the right thing to do for a muffin that’s past the peak of freshness, but there is no denying the wanton luxury of taking one in its prime, slicing it in half and griddle-cooking it to create a crisp surface, then melting butter right into that hot surface.