Poppy Seed Pecan Muffins

These are definitely grown-up muffins.  I almost didn't make them because I didn't think the kids would like them.  But they sounded so good to me!  Mostly because I love pecans.  We had this for supper with cheesy eggs, bacon, sausage, and home fries.  A regular breakfast feast.  From Simple & Delicious.

Poppy Seed Pecan Muffins
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup 2% milk
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 tbsp poppy seeds

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in milk and orange peel.  Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in another bowl.  Add to creamed mixture and stir just until moistened.  Stir in the pecans, raisins, and poppy seeds.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.  Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.  Serve warm (and with butter, of course).

I knew Steve and I would like these.  I thought the two older kids would try them and not like them.  And I thought Nathan would not even try.  So we sat down to dinner, Nathan peels the paper off his muffin, says, "What kind is this?  Chocolate chip?  Blueberry?" and before I could answer, he takes a bite.  So the other kids also want to know what kind of muffin this is.  So I say they have golden raisins in them.  Nathan eats about half the muffin before he gets a bite he doesn't like (not sure if the offender was a pecan or a golden raisin) and then refused to eat the rest.  But I thought that was pretty good!  And Emma really really liked these.  She's the only one who had two.  So I'm not sure if we'll have these again.  It was a strange combination of flavors.  But they were pretty good.