Sour Cream and Champagne Grape Muffin Recipe

My daughter’s first day of nursery school, sixteen years ago, was traumatic. For me.

Fall 1994

I fully expected to spend a week or more hanging out in the nursery school’s sunny rooms. I had a cup of hot, half-and-half-laced coffee in a travel cup. I was ready to sit sipping it, inhaling the smell of paste and watching kids build cities, roads and castles from the school’s soft-cornered, time-worn maple blocks.

You see, I thought my daughter would cling to me, fearful of parting for the first time. That was my experience with her older brother. He never paid much attention to me as I stood against the nursery wall, balancing his baby sister on my hip. But he wanted me to stay, watching him hang upside down on the gym equipment or careening wooden trucks across the floor.

I thought Lily would react with the same nervous fear on her first day at Scarsdale Friends Nursery School. So you can imagine my shock when, at the school’s entryway, with my foot poised on the threshold, Lily turned her tow-head to me and growled, “Leave.”

She didn’t want me to stay! Shell-shocked, I can’t remember how I spent the next next two and a half hours before I picked her up again.

That moment was a blueprint for our relationship forever after. Belying her tiny, fragile-looking frame, Lily was—and is—fiercely independent.

Fall 2010

So I wasn’t so surprised a few weeks ago when I left her at her lovely college in Portland, Oregon, sans sturm und drang.

On registration day we spent the morning and afternoon together. We settled her into her room, bought odds and ends at the bookstore and listened to speeches. In between we stuffed our faces with some of the best vegetarian cafeteria food I’ve ever eaten.



In the early evening, we sat on the steps of the college’s traffic circle surrounded by old oaks and maples. Then we shared a hug and a kiss. And off she walked.

Family meals for three. Or Four. Or Two.

Our family is in transition once again. One child is in college. Another, our eldest, just graduated from college, is currently working—and living—away from home. For now.

And one—poor kid—is still stuck home with mom and dad.

Grocery shopping, cooking and meals are in flux, too. A full pound of pasta is too much. A big loaf of Arthur Avenue Italian bread goes stale—and needs to be incorporated into panzanella or baked into croutons. We drink less milk. Reminder to self: Call Starlight Dairy and downsize weekly milk delivery.

That said, I’m still hanging onto family meals. They’re simple and unfussy—but they’re still scratch-cooked and enjoyed together. Truth is, after 20+ years, I find cooking, and mealtime routines, relaxing. And yes, comforting. Deeply comforting, whether I’m serving forth for five, four, three or even just the two of us.

Fast comfort food: Muffins

And that’s why I love quick breads and muffins. I can throw muffins together in less than two minutes. They are infinitely flexible, using up dribs and drabs from refrigerator and fruit bowl. And hot out of the oven, they embody warm, home-cooked comfort.

So, the other day I spied a handful of Champagne grapes hiding in a brown paper bag on the bottom of the fridge. Cowering on the shelf above, sat a half-empty carton of sour cream—just a day or two away from mold. Emergency intervention muffins were the order of the day.



These muffins are a delicious alternative to my Cream Scones with New York State Champagne Grapes. (Lily, you’ll remember that’s pronounced skawns…) You get that rich scone-like taste and moist crumb without the fuss of patting and cutting dough.

Sour Cream and Champagne Grape Muffins

2 ½ cups flour
¾ cup Demerara sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoon melted butter, plus extra for greasing muffin tins
1 egg
½ cup sour cream
1 cup milk
1 cup Champagne grapes or berries

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Generously grease muffin tins.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder, whisking to mix well.
4. In a large measuring cup or smaller bowl, beat egg. Add sour cream, milk and melted butter, mixing well to combine.
5. Quickly add wet ingredients to dry. Blend with a few strokes, then add Champagne grapes. Gently fold in grapes. Do not over beat. You may see a few patches of flour: Leave as is, they will be absorbed as you scoop batter into tins.
6. With a large spoon, spoon batter into muffin tins, filling three-quarters full.
7. Slide muffin tins into oven. Bake muffins 12-15 minutes, until tops are slightly golden.
8. Remove muffins from oven. Cool slightly and run knife around sides of muffin tins to remove the muffins. Serve immediately.

Makes 1½ dozen muffins.