Tea Room Recipe #28 - The Wild Plum Tea Room (Gatlinburg, Tenn.)

A year or so ago, I began searching for tea room cookbooks online in anticipation of this year's special Saturday focus. I was surprised to find a book from The Wild Plum Tea Room listed for more than $100! It was out of print, and I dearly wished I had bought one before they sold out. Then, at Christmas, a friend of mine whose son lives in Gatlinburg visited the tea room and lo and behold, the books were back in print so on a whim she bought me one. She said she hoped I didn't already have the book, and I told her how thrilled I was to receive my copy!

Since the tea room's name mentions the plum, I knew immediately that I wanted to make the Wild Plum Muffin recipe in the book. But you know what? Grocery stores in these parts don't sell plums in January, when I first got a hankering to make them. I ended up talking to a produce manager who very kindly informed me, as if he were talking to a very dim child, that plums are not in season in January. Oh. How 'bout that? So I waited. And when I saw some nice juicy plums the other day, I realized it was time to take another look at the cookbook.

The recipe in the book makes 10 dozen mini-muffins, but I wanted full-size muffins, and not too many, so I halved the recipe. Here's how I made these absolutely divine muffins, moist little treats with a delightfully plummy taste. I must say, they were worth the wait!

Wild Plum Muffins

1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup chopped pecans (the book calls for walnuts, but I had pecans on hand)
1/2 cup drained and pitted plums processed in food processor (3 plums was nearly a perfect amount) PLUS 1-1/2 tablespoons applesauce*
1-1/2 large eggs (good luck with that)
1/2 cup vegetable oil

*Note: The book says you may substitute a small jar of plum baby food for the plum and applesauce mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, allspice and nuts. Add plums and applesauce (or the substitute), eggs and vegetable oil. Stir just until combined. Prepare a muffin pan with cooking spray and fill tins about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until tops are firm and edges are just beginning to brown. Yields 1 dozen regular size muffins.