Monday, April 27, 2020

Wild Violet Muffins with Wild Violet Sugar #MuffinMonday

Wild Violet Muffins with Wild Violet Sugar #MuffinMonday


Tender light muffins sweetened with wild violet syrup and sprinkled with wild violet sugar. Edible flowers baked into a Spring floral treat.


image of a plate of wild violet muffins topped with wild violet sugar

I'm reposting this recipe because the violets have appeared in the yard. Enjoy!

 Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook



About the only thing worth foraging in my yard these days are violets.

The garlic has woken up from it's deep winter slumber though it's nowhere near harvesting. The chives and raspberry canes are just beginning to stir. Some red leaf lettuce and celery from the compost miraculously survived the winter and is peeping up from a raised bed--though I suspect bunnies might nibble it off.

photo of a wild violet bloom
My spouse took this bug's view of a violet in our front yard yesterday.
I'm pretty much over playing with the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve, and I'm sick of eating down the put up vegetables in the freezer and pantry before we move. I want to forage with something fresh.

Wild violets it is.



Pin for later!


Tender light muffins sweetened with wild violet syrup and sprinkled with wild violet sugar. Edible flowers baked into a Spring floral treat.


Did you ever wish you could take a Potions class?  Try making wild violet syrup--or jelly--instead.  The results are totally neat and taste much better than any Polyjuice potion.
Or so I'm led to believe, having only tasted Wild Violet Syrup and Wild Violet Jelly and Wild Violet Sugar but not any Polyjuice Potion.
When you add acidic lemon juice to an infusion of wild violet flowers, the resulting color change is dramatic.  Make sure you call everyone in the house into the kitchen so they don't miss it.  Here is a recipe for Wild Violet Syrup.


collage image of making wild violet syrup



And if wild violets are as abundant near you as they are near me, use some to make Wild Violet Sugar--this stuff is gorgeous, naturally purple and such fun to play with.  I got my recipe for Wild Violet Sugar here.


After you've had your fun playing with potions--what next?  We are not huge syrup fans, though maple is great, thanks--so I played around with the basic muffin recipe from Muffins: A Cookbook  swapping yogurt for milk, wild violet syrup and wild violet sugar for the sugar (and reducing that too), and boosting the fiber with some whole wheat flour. I dunked those little treats into butter and more wild violet sugar to finish them off--and then my kids finished them off.


The next thing I'll play with is some Wild Violet Granola! Then Wild Violet Butter!


close up image of wild violet muffins with wild violet sugar topping


Pretty tasty for a Potions class.

For other recipes using wild violets, please see my Wild Violet Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the front yard, the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

I'm sharing more recipes on my Pinterest boards, follow me there. If you like a good peek behind the scenes like I do, follow me on Instagram. Need a good read? I'm sharing articles of interest on my Facebook page, follow me there. Want to know How to Use This Blog?


photo of ingredients for making wild violet muffins with wild violet sugar


a plate of wild violet muffins dusted with wild violet sugar



Muffin Monday
It's Muffin Monday time! #MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

While the cool mornings mean happy baking for our family breakfasts, the burgeoning green makes me think of spending outside amongst the flowers so I decided to update this post to add to the baked goods on display.


28 comments:

  1. I've now added go foraging for wild violets to my to do list. These look delightful, fragile, and fancy. I feel like I should have them with afternoon tea, and if afternoon tea means a break form work, then I will drink that stuff every day.
    P.S. Nice Harry Potter references. You get bonus points. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meghan,
      You could spend your foraging time with your newly-returned spouse. After all, 4 eyes are better than 2!
      I've got another, more Meghan-centric, wild violet recipe coming soon . . .

      Delete
  2. Dear Kirsten, how exotic and beautiful! I cannot wait to try this once my violet flowers start growing in the garden. I will be saving and pinning. Stopping by from Tasty Tuesdays. Blessings, Catherine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Catherine,
      I have been seeing violets all over the place here, which prompted me to dust off this recipe and get it ready for prime time. I wish you all the best with your wild violet fun!
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Kirsten, these are absolutely gorgeous! I had no idea you could cook with violets and now I want to put them in everything :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amy,
      I find myself lying in bed or walking the dogs and dreaming up recipe ideas--all sweet using the wild violet sugar--because I think it's just so pretty.
      Great Minds Think Alike--thanks!

      Delete
  4. Wild violets? They sound gorgeous, and your muffins look gorgeous too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saucy,
      Why not?! Thank you for the compliments on my photos--a year ago I did the 30 Day to Better Food Photography course at LearnFoodPhotography.com , and one of our first assignments was to choose a food we could photograph every day for the entire course.

      I chose muffins--and my family ate a wide variety of muffins that month! I'm still improving, and having a new camera helps, so I appreciate the kind words.

      Delete
  5. beautiful muffins. It's amazing how you come up with something using wild violets!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aditi,
      This Spring I'm sharing two wild violet recipes, got another one coming up (I think maybe for Mother's Day, not sure yet) but my brain is already cooking up uses for that wild violet sugar. It's so pretty.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. These are so gorgeous! And very intriguing... You're making me wish I had a backyard now. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Julie,
      Yeah, I can't help you in NYC, but if you're someone outside of the skyscraper part of the city, with alleys and such, keep your eyes peeled. It's fun to do and keeps a while.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  7. Oh my...this post was a pleasure to read! Who would have thought that wild violets would look and sound so delicious? It also sounds incredibly exotic and definitely better than polyjuice potion! I definitely would like to try butterbeer though :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indira,
      I would totally try butterbeer as well!
      My son's marching band was in Disney during winter break, and I thought we'd hit Universal Studios for a day during the trip so I could try a butter beer in Harry Potter World, but the price of that beer was just too dear for me.

      Thanks!

      Delete
  8. wher do you find violet syrup?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Justine,
      I found wild violet syrup in my kitchen! I followed the recipe linked above (here's the link again if you need it http://kentuckyforager.com/2013/04/16/wild-violet-syrup/ ) and used the wild violets from my yard, plus sugar and lemon juice, to make this yummy treat.
      It keeps for a good while in the fridge, too.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  9. That violet syrup is a gorgeous color, Kirsten! I've seen violets here sold (very expensive!) as edible flowers, I'm guessing more for decoration since the packs are so small, so I'll just have to admire your lovely muffins. Very pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Now you have me wondering if wild violets grow in the countryside as far south as Houston! I see a little research in my future.

    ReplyDelete
  11. These are just beautiful! They scream "spring"!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh my goodness, I will have to keep my eyes open for violets now. I can't wait to make your syrup and sugar.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is beautiful muffins, I haven't tried anything with wild violet flower. Need to find. Looks perfect treat.

    ReplyDelete
  14. It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.

    ReplyDelete
  15. what can you substitue for the vegetable oil? thanks Vera

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Vera!
      I haven't tried it, but I'd substitute half a stick of butter, melted, or ¼ cup of coconut oil instead of vegetable oil.

      Delete
  16. Would I be able to make these in a normal sized muffin tin?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anon! You bet--a normal size muffin tin should take 15-18 minutes at 400˚F.

      Delete