Christmas Morning Jewelled Muffin Mix in a Jar

"Delightful festive spiced muffins, studded with jewel coloured fruit and nuts - just the thing for Christmas morning! I love all types of "mixes" in a jar! Soups, biscuits, spices, cookies and cake mixes etc! However, this muffin mix is my favourite - it makes a wonderful gift, or I make it for us, as it looks so pretty & festive sitting in the kitchen waiting to be baked! Try to use really colourful dried fruits with a good mix of tastes and textures. For those of you who cannot source Mixed Spice, an essential ingredient, I have a recipe posted on Zaar: Recipe #266688. This muffin mix is always popular as a gift, and I do try to find unusual shaped jars and hand-made paper or card for the baking instructions. A wooden spoon tied around the neck of the jar is another winning idea - and don't forget the Holly sprig!"
 
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photo by Annacia photo by Annacia
photo by Annacia
photo by Annacia photo by Annacia
photo by Annacia photo by Annacia
photo by Annacia photo by Annacia
photo by Annacia photo by Annacia
Ready In:
35mins
Ingredients:
10
Yields:
12 Muffins
Serves:
12
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ingredients

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directions

  • Layer all the ingredients in a 1 litre/2 pint glass preserving jar in the order the ingredients are listed.
  • Write the following method on a gift label:

  • 'Tip the contents of the jar into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add 2 beaten eggs, 300ml/1/2 pt milk and 100g/4oz melted butter. Mix quickly and lightly to a soft batter. Divide between 12 muffin cases. Bake at 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 for 18-20 minutes Use within 4 weeks.'.
  • Attach the label and a wooden spoon to the top of the jar with some raffia or coloured ribbon and a sprig of holly or seasonal herbs. (I like to use Bay leaves!).
  • Look out for attractive clear jars - either glass or plastic - to show off the layers of the muffin mix - I like to use Kilner Jars.

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Reviews

  1. I'm not staring this recipe yet, I made the mix up today and will bake in a few days. When I do that I'll rate and add pix of the finished product. Looking good so far though. I have used candied lemon peel, currants, dried cherries and dried apricots. I'm making it for Photo Tag. *UPDATE*: It's a week later and I baked the muffins this morning. They are marvelous! (and the aroma of the spices when you open the jar is pure heaven! I thought I had made a mistake somewhere when I added the liquid ingredients to the mix as it was really thin. I decided to trust the recipe and it turned out beautifully. I made 6 double size muffins and let them bake for an extra 5 mins. They are moist and simply yummy! My only suggestion would be to be sure that you use the full amount of spice and if you are a spice fan, extra wouldn't be amiss. Thanks FT for a recipe that I'll likely be using for many holidays to come. Made for Photo Tag.
     
  2. Well this was as easy as a figgy pudding to put together. FT you have lifted me up off the floor because this recipe allowed me not to panic one moment longer about giving gifts and what to do etc. This was absolutely perfect! I haven't made it yet, (just put all the really beautiful ingredients into nice jars, tied with ribbons and attached recipe. I can just tell by the aroma, this smell like the holiday season. As I mentioned earlier, I had been given a gift of all the dried fruits listed so I just added the rest of the ingredients and viola! A gift to go. Perfect, and I will be making like 20 more of these. Thanks for posting FT!
     
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<p><strong><span>The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /><br /><strong><span><br /><br />I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA &amp; Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! <br /><br />I used to be an English Literature &amp; Art History teacher &amp; lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband &amp; my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!)</span></strong></p> <p><em><strong><span>This is my Burmese Cat, Willow, sunning herself on the log pile in the kitchen garden:</span></strong></em></p> <p><strong><img title=My src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/ABaconButtyandSundryFoodPhotos34.jpg alt=My width=640 height=480 /></strong></p> <p><strong><span>Here is my lovely Monty, a seal point Siamese, and Willow, sitting&nbsp;in the kitchen garden last year, and a few months before Monty died; he was 18yrs old:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Monty src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/AbsolutelySinfulStickyToffeePudding.jpg alt=Monty width=640 height=480 />My</p> <p><strong><span>This is my wonderful old boy, Rama, a blue-point Siamese, who died when he was 20yrs old - excuse the old and much sellotaped photo:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Rama src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Rama1stOctober2004164.jpg alt=Rama width=517 height=639 /></p> <p><strong><span>My favourite pastimes are: reading, writing, painting &amp; drawing, photography, gardening, anything creative, walking, travelling, dining out and of course COOKING! I love all types of cuisine, but especially Traditional British - and NO it is NOT all bad!! I particularly love food associated with the changing seasons plus traditional feasts &amp; festivals, as well as Slow Cooking. I also enjoy French &amp; North African cuisine, come to think of it, there isn't much I don't like! <br /><br />My husband &amp; I run a Chambres D'Hotes, (Bed and Breakfast) called Auberge de la Fontaine here in beautiful South West France; we specialise in Gourmet Food &amp; Wine Breaks, French Antiques &amp; Restoration courses, French Language courses and French Cookery classes. Our home is completely furnished with Antique French furniture that we have rescued &amp; restored ourselves. Our charming village has one of the oldest Churches in the region &amp; it is famous for its connection with the St.Jacques de Compostella Pilgrimage route, as well as being within the Cognac &amp; Bordeaux wine growing area. <br /><br />We have a wonderful garden where we grow ALL of our own herbs and most of our fruit and vegetables. I specialise in rare, unusual and old-fashioned herbs, which I grow in our walled garden. As well as growing herbs, I also grow many different varieties of lavender, old-fashioned shrub roses and heirloom fruit and vegetables. <br /><br />We have lived overseas for many, many years now - but we both still love going home to Northern England, near Scarborough &amp; York, to visit our family &amp; friends. We also love indulging in dining out when we are there, in a wide variety of EXCELLENT Gastro-Pubs that we have in North Yorkshire; and popping in to have a Pint of REAL ENGLISH ALE in our local pub is a always a must!! <br /></span></strong></p> <p><br /><a href=http://photobucket.com/images/merci%20beaucoup target=_blank><img src=http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp287/vi-vie15/Merci/hb09izl7.gif border=0 alt=merci /></a> <br /><br /><strong><span>A Message to all who make and review my recipes! I try very hard to reply to EACH and EVERYONE of you who kindly makes, reviews and photographs my recipes! However, sometimes I am so busy in the B and B, and with other things, that I may be late in sending a personal thank you message, and sometimes I forget completely! I would just like to thank you ALL in advance, and just in case I am late or forgetful in sending a personal thanks. I am always very humbled by anyone who chooses to make one of my recipes, and I love reading the reviews and seeing the beautiful photos that are posted. Merci beaucoup encore! <br /><br />A note about my recipes. All of my posted recipes, whether they be my own concoctions or adaptations from a book or a famous chef, have been tried and tested at least once, by ME! I try to make sure that I am the guinea pig and not you! However, if there is anything you would like ask me about one of my recipes, or a query that I may be able to help you with, please do write and I will try to answer your question as soon as possible. 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