4.15.2010

My First Cookbook

Muffin love nuggets.
The cookbook.

This is the very first cookbook I ever bought as a real woman. I was only 20, but I had been married a total of 6 days, and I purchased this book with some wedding money we had received from someone we loved I'm sure. I may only use 1 recipe in the whole book, but it is well worth the purchase price.

I had a room mate down at BYU that first introduced me to the wonders inside the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. She was a beautiful red head who was very domestic and cooked for herself and others while going to college. I wouldn't say anything I did could have been considered cooking or domestic. I was really good at adding water to Krusteez pancake mix and fixing me a pancake that I then slathered with peanut butter and syrup. This wasn't usually a breakfast meal, but dinner. I budgeted $15 a week for groceries, and I was very thankful for the "onion farmer's" daughter roommate who supplied us with cases of onions, and also for the "potato farmer's" daughter roommate who supplied us with tators all year long. I was a forced vegetarian for quite some time as well. Meat's expensive on a summer lifeguarding job budget.

My saving grace was a really nice returned missionary who was desperately trying to get me to realize that I didn't want to "wait" for MY other missionary, but to love him. He would take me to lunch or dinner probably 3-4 times a week. He introduced me to Katsu Curry, sticky rice, and Udon noodles. Thank you Jason! He was such a nice kid, and I feel really bad about using him to keep my tummy full, but he knew where I stood:)

Well back to the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. One Saturday morning my roommate made the most wonderful muffins for all of us starving students for breakfast. They were white and plain, but rolled in glorious cinnamon sugar. Sometimes there is nothing better than cinnamon sugar. I'm sure one or more of my brother's would have starved to death without Cinnamon Toast in their diets. These muffins were lovely and delicious. I was determined then and there that one day I would be domestic and make my loved ones these wonderful little muffins. But first I must get my hands on the recipe. The recipe had come from within the pages of the famous red and white checked cookbook. I would have one, one day.

The day came a few years later. You know--------6 days after I married James!! I may have not had many culinary skills at that time, but I had learned how to make a perfect muffin when I was 10, in Cooking 4H. I could do this. Let's fast forward 17 years. The muffins were never a huge hit until last week. I don't know, James just didn't have that wonderful muffin moment that I had had. So I didn't make them again until a few Saturday's ago. I made them for my 4 kidlets. James just happened to be out of town. The kids had that same moment of bliss in eating these muffins as I had 17 years earlier. A hit at the Clawson home now. Who cares what James thinks, (even though he ate 4 of them the last time Emma made them.) Emma can make them by herself as well and my life is getting more pleasant by the day. Some guy is going to be lucky to get her.......in 30 years that is!

French Breakfast Puffs
We call them Cinnamon Sugar Muffins
From the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease 12 medium muffin cups, 2 1/2x1 1/4 inches.
Mix butter, 1/2 cup sugar and the egg thoroughly in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg alternately with milk. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Mix 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll hot muffins immediately in melted butter, then in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Serve hot. (don't use margarine in these or to dip the muffins in after. It just tastes nasty.)

6 comments:

  1. So I was watching "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on the food network, which is my new favorite show they do, and one of the spots was on these donut muffins from a bakery in CA. They look exactly like this, but she put a little nutmeg in the muffins, and didn't put wrappers on them, so the second they came out of the oven she dumbed them into a bowl of cinnamon sugar and they got all crispy and yummy as they cooled. They looked amazing, and now I think I have the recipe to make them. Thank you, thank you. Love ya.

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  2. I was hoping you were making an announcement that you were writing your first cookbook. Be sure to me know when that happens.

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  3. I agree with Emily. You need to issue a cookbook. Maybe with a title like, "Your Guts Will Love This by Lisa Clawson."

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  4. I too was fooled by the title of your post. I'm looking forward to the LISA CLAWSON COOKBOOK!! P.S. I would like my copy signed.

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  5. Hey sister wife!! ;) How are you doing? Your blog is SO DANG CUTE! I just love reading it.... it makes me miss you though! You are so sweet!

    So your rice pudding that you blogged about not too long ago is mine and my dad's new FAVORITE! It is soooo delish!!! Well we made it AGAIN tonight and when it was time to add the vanilla, we realized that we didn't have any, so we just substituted that with a little coconut and rum extracts. Then we served it with a little bit of shredded coconut on top! IT WAS SO YUMMM! It is our "island style" rice pudding! You'll have to try it next time. Thanks for the recipe. It really is the BEST rice pudding that we have EVER had! Kuddos to your grandma :)

    Love you Lisa :)

    P.s. I don't know if I have you added to my blog list, but you should e-mail me your e-mail address and I can add you to the "Lehnen Blog!" mlne_rox@hotmail.com

    Thanks!
    -Melanie (Mower) Lehnen

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  6. Lisa, those sound (and look!) really good!! I'll have to try them.

    So it looks like I'm heading to Paradise Wednesday! I was called to assist with girls camp this year, and we are coming up to check out the site- Little Bear River Resort. I thought it was funny we will be "camping" in your neck of the woods. Small world right!?

    Alisa (Susan's sister)

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