Cinnamon Puffs

I love breakfast for dinner. It is one of my favorite things. Possibly becuase I have this mild obsession with serving both sweet and savor at the same meal/ in the same dish. Just ask my husband about the Pineapple Summer of '08. But I think it's more than that. In the cooler months I love the hearty, soothing comfort of it. The smells of egg, and breakfast meat, and bread foods cook and baking. It doesn't matter of it's breakfast casserole or bacon and eggs, breakfast for dinner feeds my soul.

In my mind breakfast isn't really completely unless it includes some type of bread product. Some times we just do toast, other times we get a little more creative and do pancake, chocolate/coconut waffles, or (Closer to Christmas) S'more waffles. But my truly favorite of all breakfast food items is the Cinnamon Puff. I recently saw an episode of Food Network's show The Best Thing I Ever Ate, where they described a food item very similar. However we have been making Cinnamon Puffs in my family since I was a little girl, so I am pretty sure this is not a knock off recipe.

Cinnamon Puffs

½ cup shortening

½ cup sugar

1 egg

1 ½ cup flour

1 ½ teasp. baking powder

½ teasp salt

¼  teasp. nutmeg

½ cup milk

(Optional add ins: Almond extract, cinnamon, cloves)

Cream sugar and egg. Stir in dry ingredients alternately w/milk.  Put in greased muffin pans.  Bake 350 degrees 20-25 minutes

Topping:

1 ½ cup sugar

1 teasp. cinnamon

½ cup melted butter

Dip muffin in melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.

 ** I personally like my muffins baked till they are just cooked, becuase of this the bottoms do not come out very brown. That being said I prefer to brush my muffins with butter rather than dip them. I find if I dip they become to saturated and start falling a part.