A hand-sized spice cake is quite a treat, and that’s what these muffins are akin to. Adding pieces of pecans and chopped, sweet watermelon-pickle add a Southern flavor and move the muffins up a few culinary notches.
Ingredients:
Makes about 18 regular-size muffins
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup chopped watermelon pickles*
½ cup butter (Note: no need to soften)
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional frosting (if you want something more like a cupcake and less like a muffin):
¼ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
2-3 tablespoons cream
In a large saucepan, combine sugar, water, chopped watermelon pickles, butter, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon. Bring to boil. Remove saucepan from heat and let the mixture cool at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the cooled cooked mixture; stir thoroughly. Fold in the pecans and vanilla. Fill ungreased muffin liners or greased muffin cups to just over half full.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool, then frost, if desired.
To make the optional frosting, combine the butter, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and confectioner’s sugar. Add just enough cream to give the mixture a good spreading consistency, then frost the muffins.
*Watermelon pickle is a traditional “sweet meat” made from the white part of watermelon rind, sugar, vinegar, and spices. Watermelon pickles, sometimes called “sweet pickled watermelon rind,” are available in the specialty or condiment sections of many grocery stores; they also can be ordered online.
–Slightly adapted from “Watermelon Muffins” in Watermelon, copyrighted by Ellen Ficklen and the American Folklife Center, The Library of Congress, 1984.
Recipe tested by Ellen Ficklen; email questions to hello@watermelontimes.com