TWD: Buttermilk Crumb Muffins

Alright, I'll admit it.  This week's TWD/BWJ recipe scared me just a little.  I was reading the recipe and thinking:  really?   Two cups of brown sugar?  Two-thirds of a cup of Crisco?  Ahem, Crisco, as in that fake stuff?  Well, yes, yes, yes, and yes as it turns out.  Now, I bake all the time.  Sometimes I alter recipes to make them a little friendlier to arteries and insulin levels and sometimes I don't.  Generally, I'm not afraid of butter and sugar because, as it turns out, you don't have to eat everything you bake.  Other people are usually more than happy to accept home-baked goods.  However, when something is supposed to be a breakfast food and it calls for crazy amounts of sugar and a fake, processed product for the fat, well that is where I draw line.  Okay, usually.  Just for once, I gave in and made these muffins.

Now, can I be honest with you?  They were okay.  I mean, they tasted alright (much like a coffeecake--though I have had better coffee cake) and went splendidly with coffee and that is usually all I want out of breakfast.   However, I have about twenty other muffin recipes that: 1) taste better; 2) contain less than half the sugar of this one; 3) call for at least some whole grain flour; and 4) don't call for shortening.  So, I dare say that I don't see myself making this recipe again.  It's not that the muffins are bad, they just aren't really my thing.

That said, if they do sound like your thing, stop by Easier Than Pie for the recipe.