Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Buttermilk Muffins #MuffinMonday

Simple, buttery cinnamon muffins, sweetened with dark brown sugar, smell gorgeous in the oven and taste even better once you get them out.

I gotta tell you. Summer’s hard. I want to be everywhere, see everyone, but it just doesn’t seem to happen like I’d like it to. A good friend from my Kuala Lumpur days was in Houston this week and things piled up and I completely forgot about her Facebook message and missed seeing her. Now I don’t even know how to apologize. Because I did dearly want to spend time with her and “I forgot” seems like the worst insult, however unintentional.

Houston is home base for a few weeks each summer, and I make sure that the whole family sees all the doctors and dentists, etc. for annual check ups. That way the medical records have continuity despite our expat status and many moves all around the world. Our girls have seen the same eye doctor since elder daughter was three years old and she is now 23. Same with the dentist and pediatrician (although they’ve moved on from the pediatrician) and I still see the OB/GYN who saw me through my pregnancy with her. And my own childhood dentist. It just makes sense, but it does make for a hectic few weeks, getting all the appointments scheduled, while trying to spend quality time with friends and family and doing the shopping for new clothes, shoes, etc.

So, to my friends in Houston: If I haven’t seen you yet, you are on the list! And if you don’t hear from me, don’t hesitate to call or send me a message. It’s not that I don’t love you. I’m just busy chasing my own tail.

And, on Mondays, I'm making muffins.

Ingredients
For the muffin batter:
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
3/4 cup or 170g dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup or 180ml buttermilk (or 2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar and top up to 3/4 cup with milk)
1/2 cup or 115g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs

For the topping:
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 12-cup muffin pan or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl mix together your flour, dark brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

In another bowl, whisk your buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla and eggs.

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Using a scoop or a tablespoon, distribute the batter among the muffin cups.

Mix the three tablespoons of sugar with one teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle liberally over all of the muffin cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Remove the muffins from the muffin pan and cool further on a rack.

Enjoy!  How do you spend your summer holidays?