Love Muffins

Valentine’s Day is upon us and with that comes many mixed feelings. Some love it, many others loathe it. What started as a simple card-giving holiday has morphed into an expectation of grand gestures and declarations.

Every elementary student is now expected to provide a card for every person in their class, preferably with a non-offensive, non-allergy-causing treat attached. Oi, the pressure! Honestly, I am delighted that practice died out once my girls hit middle school.

We generally keep it pretty low-key in our house. No fancy dinners out (who wants those crowds?) and no giant floral bouquets are required. My poor husband doesn’t buy me many flowers these days, as we used to have a kitty that would eat nearly every leaf brought into our house. The current cat does not do this, but old habits die hard.

However, I am a sucker for the seasonal heart-shaped chocolates, pastas and cupcakes, etc. I still love the excuse to sneak heart-shaped goodies into the girls’ lunch boxes.

Many, many, many years ago, before I even had children, I fell in love with a muffin recipe in a Williams-Sonoma catalog. It was printed right alongside an adorable heart-shaped muffin pan. Is it a little nuts that I remember this recipe’s origin story?? It was so long ago, that the catalog page I photocopied has an 800 number at the top, not a website address.

Anyway, it should not surprise you at this point, that I took that recipe and made it my own. I have made it for many years and it continues to be a family favorite. I even have my own heart-shaped muffin pan now, but rest assured they taste just as good in normal muffin form as well.

The original muffin recipe uses sour cream, but I made the switch to Greek yogurt. The taste is very similar. In fact, I argue that you cannot tell the difference in baked goods. It makes the muffins better for you by giving you a little punch of protein.

You can also use any kind of red jam, but our family favorite is my Mom’s homemade rhubarb jam. She has been making it for years because my Dad is allergic to most fruits, but rhubarb jam works well for him. I love the tangy sweet flavor more than most overly sweet jams. I know this is not something everyone has in their fridge at home, and outside of the Midwest, it is a complete anomaly, so use what you like.

As I stated earlier, you do not have to make them into hearts, but that’s what makes them “Love Muffins”. I have seen and tried a nifty trick on Pinterest where you can use a regular muffin tin lined with paper liners and place a glass marble on one side of the cup, between the pan and the paper liner. This gives it a little indentation, like a heart. But I must admit, they are much more like a modern art heart that way, more of a suggestion of a heart than literal.

These muffins are fast and easy, and it’s a good thing because they go quickly. My muffin pan is made of silicone and the cups are fairly large, so I only get a dozen muffins from each batch. But it can easily be doubled for a larger crowd.

I hope you enjoy these Love Muffins as much as we do and may your Valentine’s Day be full of love and free of drama.