Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins

English muffins don’t come in with too many flavor options beyond plain and sourdough, although whole wheat do seem to pop up more and more often these days. The one real flavor that english muffins come in is cinnamon raisin – and it’s a good one. When the spicy muffins toast up, the cinnamon scent and flavor is released from the bread and the raisins become hot and sweet. They’re not as versatile as the go-with-anything plain variety of english muffin, but when they’re spread with butter, cinnamon raisin is a fantastic breakfast treat.

These are very easy to make at home. The english muffin dough is a no-knead batter that is mixed up and allowed to rise for just a short period of time. Once it has risen, the dough is dropped in big spoonfuls and cooked on a skillet or griddle. This allows both the top and the bottom of the muffin to take on a golden color, while the center cooks through and still remains chewy and soft, the perfect texture for toasting.

This recipe calls for nonfat milk because it tends to produce slightly holier muffins. The higher the fat content in the english muffin, the tighter the crumb. Low fat milk works pretty well, but if you compared a whole milk muffin and a nonfat muffin, you’d notice a difference. All that said, both will taste good. If you want to experiment a little, try using other dried fruits in place of the raisins, like currants, cranberries or blueberries.

Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins
1/3 cup water, warm (110F)
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup nonfat milk, slightly warm (100-110F)
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup raisins

In a large bowl, whisk together water, sugar and yeast and let mixture stand for 10 minutes, until slightly foamy.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining ingredients except the raisins and mix until smooth. Once the batter comes together, stir in the raisins.
Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 45 minutes to relax and rise.

Heat a griddle/nonstick frying pan over medium/medium-high heat (water dropped on the griddle evaporates very quickly). Lightly grease with cooking spray if not using a nonstick pan.
Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls onto greased surface and cook until medium brown on the bottom. The top will look set and the sides will appear somewhat dry. The exact time depends on the temperature of your griddle and the size of your muffins, but expect this to take several minutes. Flip over and cook 2nd side until brown.
Cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes or until completely cool.
When ready to serve, split muffins with a fork and toast.

Makes about 10 muffins.