After a week of endless dishes, spilling soap suds on my shirt, and pesky crumbs covering the counters, I emerged victorious from my kitchen. With 4 new cookbook recipes completed—3 breakfasts and 1 dessert—I needed some quality time outside of my “office,” so I hopped in the car and drove down to see my parents.
Yup, that’s what I do for fun!
Although I opened their front door with 2 ulterior motives… (1) Steal lemons from their tree in the backyard for next week’s cookbook recipe testing, and (2) sneak huge handfuls of Dad’s “Just the Clusters: Maple Pecan” cereal from Trader Joe’s all afternoon. I know, I know… There’s a TJ’s in my own town, but I’m just so addicted to that granola that I can’t keep it in my house!
When I skulked into the pantry to shake out the cereal, I spotted our old Treat Baskets on the lowest shelf. Throughout all of school, my brother and I stored our sweets in those little plastic containers, and Mom allowed us two pieces a day: one after classes and another after dinner.
Every Halloween, we filled our boxes to the brim, and the excess spilled out into paper grocery bags on the pantry floor. While my brother ate his as quickly as possible, I saved mine for months. (Except that one year Skipper, our golden retriever, gobbled up my entire stash in a single afternoon… We installed a better spring on the pantry doors after that!)
By the time I graduated from high school, I had acquired quite a collection: a 2-year-old milk chocolate Easter bunny, 4-year-old banana Laffy Taffy, and 7-year-old sour skittles (plus many other stale assorted candies). We ceremoniously threw each piece into the trash can, and when I visited home after my first quarter of college, large bags of peanuts and pistachios sat in our bins instead.
So when my guy recently bought an extra box of Milk Duds and said, “Here you go!” I realized I should probably avoid saving those for the next 6 years. But after popping a bunch into my mouth, my not-so-iron-clad stomach started complaining about all of the sugar. (Oh to be young again!) Rather than letting them collect dust on the counter, I pulled out my muffin tin, placed one in each cup, and voila! Milk Dud Mini Muffins! They’re moist, chocolaty, and contain a gooey caramel center. Seriously, what’s not to love about that?
Be sure to have a glass of milk handy! The leftovers will keep for a few days if stored in an air-tight container.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 24 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until lightly frothy. Whisk in the oil, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Spoon about 1½ teaspoons of batter into each muffin cup (enough to generously cover the bottom). Place a Milk Dud in the center of each. Top with the remaining batter. Bake at 350°F for 13-16 minutes, or until fairly firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
I just love your dedication to cookbook testing! I would LOVE to create a cookbook someday. Something along the lines of living vegan and frugal at the same time! Ahh I can dream. As for this recipe, YUM! Great way to use up the candy before it goes bad! HA!
I remember one Halloween in HS I sat on the floor of my friends bedroom and we ate almost all of our candy..at once. Worst idea ever.
You should definitely write your own cookbook Brittany! It’s never too early to start, especially with the recipe writing and testing. That’s the hardest part and takes the most time! And I definitely would’ve been right there with you eating all of my candy. It’s why I can’t go trick-or-treating anymore! 😉
You crack me up! “To be young again” – girlfriend, you are young!! 🙂
I love this idea – and I’m pretty sure everyone at my house would, too! – so I think I may have to whip up a batch! I, on the other hand, can’t do anything with caffeine. No chocolate for me! Oh well – it’s been so long I don’t even miss it!
With Halloween just around the corner, I will be pulling out the Milk Duds (and all gummy candy – my weakness!) and let my kids at the rest. We usually try to ration it, but then toss it out if it’s not finished by Christmas. 🙂
Okay okay, you caught me… “Oh to be a little kid again!” 😉
I’m so sorry you can’t have caffeine or chocolate! That must have been really rough when you first found out. I eat chocolate multiple times a day — I can’t even imagine trying to stop! I think we should pool our Halloween candy next month: I’ll give you all the gummies, and I’ll sneak all of your chocolate! 🙂
Yep – now that’s a good plan!! 😀
I’m so glad you agree Gretchen! Now, time to go candy shopping… You can never start too early, right? 😉
LOL, stealing lemons. Totally what I do when I see my parents, but it’s from the neighbor. 🙂
LOVE THESE muffins!
Lucky you, to have a generous neighbor with a lemon tree! I have to drive 80 miles to see my parents, so I’m jealous you can just walk down the street. And I’d definitely share some muffins with you and Jordan if I had any left! 🙂
Love this idea! Milk Duds are my favorite candy.
Thanks Julie! As a kid, I somehow failed to realize that Milk Duds are actually chocolate and caramel put together — I can’t believe what I was missing!
These little muffins were delicious! I used 1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp water instead of the egg whites and I cut the sugar in half and they were extremely tasty.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins Amansa! 🙂