It must be Christmas at the Carr’s. Why else would there be all those cookie tins on the counter? And fresh English muffins.

OK, these have to be the easiest and tastiest English muffins I have ever made. And all the credit goes to DrDan from 101cookingfortwo.com.

It all started with me wanting to make something new for Christmas morning – Black Forest Ham Breakfast Casserole Topped with Blender Hollandaise. (Basically, the lazy man’s (in this case woman’s) answer to Eggs Benedict.) To go along with Light and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls with Rum Raisin Cream Cheese Frosting. (recipe on site) (And yes, of course, there must be cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning! At least at our house.)

And I know. A bread-based casserole and cinnamon rolls. How can you possibly justify making two breakfast dishes with that much gluten, Patricia Ann? Well, you must remember – the two dishes are for Christmas morning. No further justification required!

Anyway, since I have never made the breakfast casserole, and although I hope it will be delightfully delicious, there is always the possibility that it won’t. But I decided I couldn’t go too far wrong if I started with homemade English muffins.

And I have a positive feeling about this casserole. I just know it’s going to be delicious. Anything slathered with my homemade Blender Hollandaise (recipe on site) is just bound to be tasty. Even shoe leather would taste fantastic topped with this creamy, buttery lemon sauce. (It is truly delicious and ever so easy to make.) But back to this recipe.

Easy, easy, EASY! No mixer required. But the dough must rest overnight. And I think it’s best if you have a set of English Muffin Rings*. I got mine in one day with Amazon Prime. The rings make the process almost foolproof.

And I can’t begin to tell you how delicious these muffins are. OMG – never will I buy English muffins again. They are just so good and so inexpensive to build.

And if the breakfast casserole turns out to be delicious, I promise to share the recipe with you. (Well, of course I will!)

That’s it for today. Mr. C. has a big band concert this evening in Anacortes. And of course, I am going along, even though I have heard the concert twice already. But can you ever get too much jingle jazz? I think not! Just like you can’t make too many cookies or too much candy for Christmas. Just isn’t possible.

So, happy holidays to all. Even though I might not personally know you, I still consider you a friend. A friend who shares my love of cooking. And isn’t that a great way to start any relationship. With a shared passion. So, thank you for your friendship, and may it continue for years to come.

And as always, peace and love to all.

1½ c. whole milk

2 T. unsalted butter, melted

4½ tsp. granulated sugar

4½ tsp. rapid rise or quick dry yeast

¾ tsp. kosher salt

3¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

cornmeal

Warm the milk in a large glass mixing bowl in your microwave to about 105-degrees.

Stir the warmed milk, melted butter, granulated sugar, and yeast together. Mix well and allow the yeast to proof for about 5 minutes or until starting to foam. Add the flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl to make a shaggy dough.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap. Allow it to sit overnight at room temperature. The dough will sink a bit rather than keep rising. (This is what you want!)

Lightly grease the inside of a dozen 3-inch baking rings* and set them on a large parchment paper lined baking sheet.

After sitting overnight on your counter, turn the dough onto a floured work surface, gently roll into a ball, and then cut into 12 equal pie shaped pieces. (First, I cut the ball in half, then in half again. Then with each quarter, I cut 3 equal (or as close as possible to equal) sized pie shaped pieces. (Be gentle with the dough. Do not work it too much.)

Place a small bit of cornmeal in a shallow bowl. Gently form each piece of dough into a rough ball and coat with cornmeal.

Place the cornmeal coated balls into the prepared rings and flatten each one gently to fill the ring. Then using a finger, “dimple” the center in about a quarter of an inch. This will help the muffins bake flatter. Allow the muffins to rest for about 30 minutes while you pre-heat your oven to 400-degrees with another parchment paper lined large baking pan heating along with the oven.

Remove the preheated baking sheet from the oven. Carefully remove the muffins from the rings and place them on the hot baking sheet. Sprinkle each muffin with a bit more cornmeal.

Bake for 10 minutes. Flip the muffins. Bake another 8 minutes or until the color is golden brown, and the internal temperature reaches at least 200-degrees.

Remove from oven and cool completely before storing in an airtight container in your refrigerator.

*I purchased Lyellfe – 20-piece English Muffin Rings from Amazon. $19.99. And I like them very much. I figure I will recover the cost of the rings after the next batch of muffins I make because they are so inexpensive to make and so expensive to buy.