French Breakfast Puffs

I'm not a baker. I enjoy baking cookies and the occasional dessert. But by and large, I'm no baker. I had decided this year to learn how to bake bread. After a disastrous episode with pizza dough I think I've moved past that.

I was thumbing through a great cookbook a GaLPal had picked up for me for my birthday back in December. I hadn't actually cracked it since then, and all but forgot it was on the shelf. Yesterday it called to me.

The story behind the cookbook is a woman who was jet-setting her life through big cities, falls for a cowboy and finds herself on a farm. No sushi or Starbucks around. Still she manages to put together dinner for a working hard husband (she calls the Marlboro Man) and their kids. It's a great read if you like cookbooks. Full of fun, and easy, and I'm hoping delicious recipes. I flagged about 50. What else is really interesting about this book is she took all her food photographs. Those mixed in with some good ol' farm type photos and you have yourself an excellent book!Don't want to buy the cookbook? Never fear, she has a website.

One that really stood out were these French Breakfast Puffs. I love cinnamon toast and the fact that you kinda combine them into a donut like cake with it dredged in sugar and cinnamon...what's not to like?

French Breakfast Puffs

Recipe from Pioneer Woman

Photo courtesy of
Pioneer Woman

• 3 cups Flour
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
• 1 cup Sugar
• ⅔ cups Shortening (Crisco)
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 cup Milk
• 1-½ cup Sugar
• 3 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 2 sticks Butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.

In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a different bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and shortening. Then add eggs and mix again.

Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.

Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

In a bowl, melt 2 sticks butter. In a separate bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Dip baked muffins in butter, coating thoroughly, then coat with cinnamon-sugar mixture.