Test-drive a cookbook today

I love libraries.  We moved around some when I was little, and one of the first things we did in a new town was find the library.  (Heck, even as an adult, that's one of the first things I've done after moving.)  To get a library card, you had to be able to write your name.  I can remember my younger sisters practicing, so they too could have library cards.  We'd go about once a week, and if I was lucky, my 10-book limit would last that long.  In high school, I even worked in the reference department of my local public library.  As a grown-up, I still love libraries, but I don't get there as often as I'd like.  And I don't take my children as often as I'd like, either.  I really need to do something about that, but as a working mom it can be hard to find the time.  Not that anyone in this house lacks for books--my husband is a bit supporter of Half Price Books. =)   And we spend some of our time and money at Borders, as well.  There are books by certain authors (cookbooks and fiction) that I know that I'll buy without a second thought.  But for other books, the library is a great way to decide if I want to spend my money.  

So where am I going with this?  =)  One of the blogs I enjoy is The Food Librarian.  Yesterday she had a delicious-looking post about Magnolia's Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Buns from a cookbook that she borrowed from her library. I love just about anything raspberry, and I love baking breakfast foods.  The timing was great, since today is my day off.  So I made these for breakfast.  I made half the recipe, which made nine standard sized muffins.  To keep the buns from sticking, I used some Pam for Baking on the muffin cups, which worked quite well.  I topped the cream cheese batter with some of my favorite raspberry butter and swirled it around.  Since my buns were smaller, I only baked them for 20 minutes, which was just right.  

The verdict?  Wow, these are awesome.  The cake part is delicious by itself, but it's fantastic with the raspberry swirl.  I ate two (hey, mine were only half the original size!) for breakfast and am tempted to have another one for lunch.  I should save them for my other taste-testers, though.  You can find the recipe here if you want to try them for yourself.  

I already checked, and unfortunately neither of my nearby libraries has a copy of More From Magnolia.  But they do have some others (such as David Lebowitz's The Perfect Scoop) that I've been meaning to check out (ha! library pun! =) ).  So along with my other errands for this afternoon, I'm off to the library!