Mother's Day

So it might be nearly a week later (she sheepishly grins) but for the first time in a few years my mother was in town to celebrate Mother's Day. For my sister and I this meant special breakfast was to be made and gifts to be gathered/bought/made. We opted for the homemade this year, my sister making a beautiful card and a really cute "Cute" cup (a local thing I believe but very adorable) and I for two necklaces, a matching pair of earrings and a mini-scrapbook with photos of family. Mom adored it all (or lied really well) :) so the gifts being a success I had to turn to some kind of breakfast creation. As previously posted, I made brunch two weeks ago for a few friends, that brunch included a tasty Eggs Benedict....for Mother's Day I went for a re-creation of this delightful dish but changed the pace a little with a whole wheat English Muffin.

Unfortunately it took two attempts to make these muffins! The first attempt was my fool-hearty idea to sub whole wheat flour for white in the recipe from the brunch was a bit of a problem...as in no rise and no muffins. Luckily the other recipe I found was best made fresh, so I was able to save the day with some delicious fresh baked English Muffins.


Even the cat thought she might need some Eggs Benedict!

Ingredients
1/4 cup warm water
1 package dry yeast (or 1 tablespoon)
2 cups whole wheat flour, plus more as needed
1 cup white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 egg
cornmeal as needed

Directions

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm (about 105° F. is ideal) water and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour(s) and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix milk, oil and honey. Add egg and stir until well blended. Stir in the yeast mixture.
4. Add liquid to about half of the dry ingredients and mix well, with a stand mixer or by hand. Mix in remaining dry ingredients. Dough will be soft and somewhat sticky.
5. Turn dough out onto floured work surface and knead for several minutes. If too sticky to knead, add flour, a tablespoon at a time.
6. Put dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let rise in a warm place (see TIP) until doubled in size. Rising time will depend on temperature; allow about 1 hour.
7. Turn risen dough out onto a work surface that has been liberally dusted with cornmeal and pat or roll to about 1/2" thick. Cut into approximately 3 inch rounds with a cookie cutter, tin can, or jar lid. If you wish, combine the scraps of dough into more muffins, handling as little as possible. Cover the muffins with a towel and let rise for 20-30 minutes.
8. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat. Sprinkle with corn meal. Using a spatula, carefully transfer muffins to hot griddle. Cook about 5 minutes on each side, turn and cook for 2-3 minutes per side. Outsides should be golden brown and crusty, insides should be soft, but not gooey. You might need to sacrifice a muffin or two as doneness tests.
9. Remove to cooling rack as they finish cooking. Cook the rest in batches.

*This recipe was found on recipietips.com