Stuffed Muffins

Wotchers!

Here’s an idea I came up with for a no-mess breakfast sandwich, snack on the go – or brunch whilst lolling around on a Sunday.

Stuffed muffins!

Stuffins!

Soft, pillowy muffin dough is folded around a filling of your choice, and cooked on the griddle (or in my case, a heavy-duty frying pan) for just 7 minutes each side. No more worrying that your filling is going to slide out from between your muffin layers, or spill down your front. Best of all, no greasy fingers!

I opted for a mixture of well-seasoned caramelised onions, chestnut mushrooms softened in butter and a feisty cheddar. It’s a combination that I’ve only recently discovered, having been rather ambivalent about mushrooms for many years, but now I’m slightly obsessed with it. The earthiness of the mushrooms, the richness of the onions and the sharp tang of cheese is seriously delicious. Chestnut mushrooms have a rich mushroomy-y flavour without the black of portobello mushrooms.

You can obviously customise the filling to your own tastes. I would heartily recommend a cheese of some sort – to bind everything together in a delicious, gooey bundle.

Stuffed Muffins

Makes 10

1 batch of fresh yeast muffin dough, after the first rise
6 onions, peeled and diced small
250g chestnut mushrooms – sliced thinly
60g unsalted butter
30ml vegetable oil
pepper and salt
100g cheese of choice

cornflour to sprinkle

• Melt 30g of butter in a heavy pan over a medium heat.
• Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with a little salt and cook until the mushrooms are softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside to cool.
• Melt the remaining butter and the oil in the pan and add the onions.
• Sprinkle with a little salt and stir over a medium low heat until softened and starting to brown. Season with pepper.
• Drain the excess oil from the onions by placing a sieve over a bowl and pouring the onions into the sieve. Leave to drain and cool.
• Cut the cheese into small (5mm) dice.
• Mix together the cheese, onions and mushrooms in equal quantities by volume. Use a cup. Any cup. You’ll have onions and mushrooms to spare. Keep the remainder in the fridge in plastic boxes to brighten up sandwiches and snacks.
• Tip out your risen muffin dough and divide into 100g pieces.
• For each piece of dough, fold the edges in towards the middle, then turn over so that the folds are underneath and the top is smooth. Cup your hand over the dough and roll it in small circles, shaping the dough into a smooth ball.
• When all the dough has been shaped, for each piece of dough, roll out gently to a diameter of about 10cm.
  • Add 2tbs of filling to one half of the dough. Dampen the edge of the dough with a little water, then fold the dough over the filling.
  • Pinch the edges together neatly to form a tight seal.
  • Sprinkle the worktop with cornflour and set the shaped and filled dough aside to rise.
  • By the time you’ve finished filling and shaping all of the dough, the first ones will be ready to cook.
• To cook the stuffins:
  • Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat until thoroughly hot.
  • Turn the heat down to low and add in 2 or 3 of the stuffins turning them upside down as you do so. By cooking the slightly dried top first, the stuffins will retain a more muffin-y shape.
  • Cover and cook for 7 minutes.
  • Gently turn the stuffins over and cook, uncovered, for another 7 minutes.
  • Cool on a wire rack.
• Serve warm.
• To reheat, zap in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, then toast each side for 1 minute in a dry pan.