Raspberry Ragamuffins

As promised, the recipe for the raspberry ragamuffins I made to ring in 2015. While similar to the other muffin recipes I’ve shared, these include a sweet surprise in the center. I like to think of them as muffins with a few accessories normally reserved for scones, namely jam and clotted cream. But they’re not a muffin-scone hybrid, they’re unique unto themselves. And so, they are ragamuffins! (Plus I’m a fan of alliteration, as regular readers have probably realized).

A raspberry ragamuffin

Sweet surprise

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

1/2 cup fresh raspberries

2 large eggs

1/3 cup brown sugar or other sweetener

6 oz 2% vanilla or raspberry Greek yogurt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup raspberry jam

2-3 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

Red confectioner’s sugar (optional)

Butter, oil, or cooking spray (for the muffin tin)

Muffin tins while adding the jam

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter, oil or cooking spray.

3. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

4. Add egg and yogurt.

5. Mix well until the batter is uniform. This should be about 12-15 good stirs.

6. Pour each muffin tin about 2/3 of the way with batter.

7. Add a small dollop of jam (roughly 1 tsp) to each muffin tin.

8. Cover the jam with batter.

9. Place a raspberry upside-down in each muffin.

10. Sprinkle each muffin with red confectioner’s sugar (optional).

11. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

12. Let cool.

13. Enjoy!

Raspberry ragamuffins fresh from the oven

This morning was all about ringing in the new year, and of course for me that meant my first run of 2015, and a New Year’s resolution. My three R’s, if you will…a personalized twist on reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmetic!

My New Year’s resolutions in the past have run the gamut, from making more of an effort to keep in touch with faraway friends to finally finishing a few of the weightier tomes on my shelf (Middlemarch, anyone?) This year, I decided to keep it simple with a single resolution: to focus on the forest through the trees. It’s an apt phrase for what I want to do this year – it means keeping the big picture in mind even while spending time on different and disparate aspects of life. It’s something I’ve mastered when it comes to school, the ability to consider broad historical themes even while getting down to the details of a particular person or event, or to think about a court case in the context of our legal system as a whole. But I think it will be even more valuable if I can do it in my life.

Running shoes, racerback tank, and ribbons (for a hair bow!) for the Disney Half Marathon...all New Year's "R"s!

Running shoes, racerback tank, and hair ribbons for the Disney Half Marathon… all New Year’s “R”s!

Take running, for example. I could make a resolution to run a certain number of days per week, or achieve a certain time in my next race. I could set a specific goal for my upcoming half marathon. But instead, I’m going to take every run as it comes, enjoying the opportunity I have to be outside and moving down the path, the wind in my hair and the sun shining down (even on a brisk 23 degrees Fahrenheit morning like this one!) This morning’s run was just a branch, running is just a tree, in the forest of life.

Friends mean so much to me. Of my dozen closest friends in this world, about half live in New York City with me. The others? Well, they’re scattered across two continents and three countries, time zones ranging from California to Continental European. They’re in London and Leicestershire, Tennessee and Texas, and I miss them terribly (Skype is just not the same!) So I’ll make an effort to stay in touch (or reach out and resume contact with a few who seem to have fallen off the radar recently), and keep in mind that we’re all human and sometimes it will be hard to stay connected. My friends are all very important trees! Without them the forest would be pretty empty.

Both wonderful reads…on to another enchanting find!

I’ll do my best in my last semester of law school and my spring internship at Lincoln Center. I’ll take read a few more of those books on my list, embark on more adventures in cooking, and hopefully travel. One of my dearest friends just moved to Nashville – over spring break, hello to Music City! At the end of the summer I intend to return to England and Oxford to visit past haunts and see my wonderful college friends. The whole time, I’ll keep in mind that life is a journey, and the important thing is to not lose sight of all the knowledge I’ve gained thus far, and stay open to new things. I’ll focus on the forest, and not let a particular tree falling down get in my way.

So without further ado, happy trails in 2015!