Mimi's Spice Muffins

Know what I miss most about living in Arizona?  Not the year-round warm weather.  Not the Dodge Theatre, the Diamondbacks, or Firebird Raceway.  Not the pretty cacti, desert landscape or an invigorating hike up Camelback mountain.  Not even the indoor Swap Mart or Glendale's Catlin Court (although it runs a very close second.)

I miss Mimi's Cafe.  Corny, I realize.  But here in PA, the closest one is in Ohio, and I ain't going to Columbus for anything. 

Mimi's, like so much else, holds a certain sentimental value.  Mimi's reminds me of late dinners with my friend Kevin after an evening of theatre.  Mimi's was the typical lunch spot for my pal Remy and I during a busy work day.  I insisted that Todd go with me once, and he hated it.  Too "fru-fru", he says. 

I took my Dad and Nancy there after a morning hike during their first visit.  My Dad swears his lettuce attacked his face.  I don't think he was too impressed, either. 

Maybe I like Mimi's because it's as close to an authentic French Bistro as we'll ever find stateside.  Maybe I like Mimi's for the atmosphere and comfortable surroundings, especially sitting on the outdoor patio.  I think I really like Mimi's because the food was always great, my favorite being their chopped Cobb salad.

I know, a Cobb salad.  What's so great about that?  Chopped up veggies, bacon, egg and bleu cheese.  No magic there, I suppose. 

My husband brought home some avocados the other day, and they gave me some serious Mimi's Cobb salad cravings.   I was trying to remember exactly what was in theirs (as you know, each chef has their own additions).  I decided to look up Mimi's online, and see if their menu had a breakdown of ingredients.  It did.

But they also had recipes for some of Mimi's specialties.  I remember their muffins with a certain fondness.  They have a recipe on their website, but to save you the trouble of going there to look it up-  here it is!

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

3 eggs

2 & 1/2 cups flour 

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk

Nut Topping:

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375.  In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer.  When they are thoroughly mixed, add eggs and beat one more minute.

Sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and the cinnamon.

Add the flour and the buttermilk to the first mixture, mix at low speed until smooth.  To avoid lumps in the batter and the wet and dry ingredients alternately, in small amounts.

Make nut topping; Mix all ingredients in a separate small bowl.

Grease muffin tins with butter or margarine.  You can also use paper baking cups.  Fill each cup 3/4 full of batter.  Add a full, rounded tablespoon of nut topping on top of each muffin cup of batter.  Bake immediately or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffin.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.  A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out dry.  Home ovens heat differently from commercial ovens so you may need to adjust the temperature or the baking time accordingly.