Fall

Fresh Fig, Walnut, and Brown Sugar Muffins

by:
September  3, 2015
4.6
8 Ratings
Fresh Fig, Walnut, and Brown Sugar Muffins
Photo by Donna
  • Makes 12 standard-size muffins
Author Notes

I wanted to feature fresh figs in an easy to make muffin, one that could be prepared quickly for breakfast, or a snack. These have fresh fruit flavor, texture from walnuts, and a "cap" of vanilla sugar. They are the best combination of a simple culinary technique and fresh, seasonal ingredients. —Donna

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 4 ounces all-purpose flour
  • 4 ounces whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 ounces brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 5 ounces buttermilk
  • 3 ounces milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 ounces butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 6-8 small fresh figs, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 2 ounces chopped walnuts
  • Vanilla sugar, for sprinkling on the muffins before baking
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven, with a rack set in the middle, to 350°F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper cups or grease thoroughly with butter. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, salt, baking powder and soda, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Whisk together to blend and set aside.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk, whole milk, eggs, cooled butter, and vanilla paste. Whisk together until smooth and blended. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and start to stir together gently. Just before the flour is completely incorporated, add the chopped figs and walnuts and fold them into the batter. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl and blend in any remaining dry flour. Portion the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup to the top. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with vanilla sugar.
  4. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are firm, golden brown, and a tester comes out clean. Allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool sufficiently for you to handle them. Serve warm, with butter, cream cheese, or marmalade (orange is great with these). Muffins can be stored, airtight, for 2 to 3 days, but their crunchy sugar cap will soften with time.
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    Marlene Tramonte
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    Donna
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7 Reviews

Steph
Steph August 20, 2022
Really great recipe. The measurements make it fail safe and easy to double. Just made 4 dozen. I did add more fresh figs because - well they are fresh figs! Other than that I tried this with dark vs light brown sugar because it didn’t specify. All and all awesome!
 
jef
jef August 15, 2022
Was looking for something quick to do with figs from our tree and this was perfect. I made a few tweaks that worked well. Added a few tablespoons of wheat germ and whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular ww. Used a little less fat and subbed in olive oil for some of the butter. Had some milk that had soured and used that instead of buttermilk (a great food waste saving hack I recently learned about).
 
Emily D.
Emily D. January 11, 2021
Delicious but cut the sugar in half. Figs are sweet enough.
 
L. C.
L. C. October 10, 2018
This recipe was perfection and going forward will be used as my go-to recipe for muffins changing for different fruits and nuts. I made the batter the night before, refrigerated the filled tins and baked the next morning. There was no loss of quality in the muffifns and allows me to cook and serve muffins the first day, and we all know, the day they are at baked is the day all muffins are at their best. I highly recommend this recipe.
 
Donna
Donna October 14, 2018
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment! I am very pleased that you enjoyed the recipe, and that it will be helpful for future baking projects. All the best,
-Donna
 
Marlene T.
Marlene T. September 19, 2015
These were very good, I used yogurt instead of buttermilk, came out really nice, thanks for the recipe
 
Donna
Donna September 19, 2015
Thank you for your kind comment Marlene. I am so pleased that you enjoyed the recipe.