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What’s a crumpet, you ask? No, it’s not a dance move. More on that later. First, I have a little story to tell. Back in highschool (way back), there was a group of seven or eight of us girls that hung out together. For some reason, we enjoyed talking in an old, warbly British accent. We even made up old-fashioned names for each other.  I can only remember my name and my BFF’s; she was Mable and I was Martha.   Eventually the entire group become known as The Tea & Crumpets Gang.

We went so far as to buy matching baseball shirts to wear on group outings.  They had green sleeves and a white body, said “Tea & Crumpets” on one side and then our made-up name on the other.  We did odd things like dressing up in skirts or frumpy dresses and gaudy accessories and roller skating along the beach boardwalk. Other times we simply piled into my parent’s huge Delta 88 and went to the drive-in.  It was the only car among us that fit everyone.

Of course, we did plenty of other things, but those are the only ones that come to mind at the moment. And maybe the others are buried in my subconscious (for good reason). I’m sorry to say that I have not been very good about staying connected with the gang, and I need to work on that.

And now, to answer your question: What is a crumpet?  Actually, it was my question, too. So I decided to do some research. I knew it was a popular British pastry and that’s about it. I couldn’t find a bakery in town that had any, and being the obsessive person that I am, I decided I would have to make and eat my own crumpets. Well, it took me a couple days to find the cookie-cutter type rings to make them in and find a recipe online.  But I did it. Thanks for your patience.  And now, without further ado, I give you…tea and crumpets!

Aren’t they the strangest things?  They’re kind of like a scone, but then not; kind of like a muffin, but not.  They’re very dense and doughy tasting. I ended up making three different sizes because the rings I bought only came in a set of varying sizes from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches.  I believe the actual “crumpet rings” are shorter; probably closer to the height of a cookie cutter.  Having them all the same size would have been nice.            

Here’s a link to the recipe I used: http://www.greatpartyrecipes.com/crumpetrecipe.html 
Or, you could just order some.  Here’s a healthier whole-wheat version and another option.  (Huh, neither of those look anything like mine. They must have made a mistake or…umm…maybe I’d better try making another batch.)

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In a sad turn of events, after I had written a draft of this post, I got a call on Wednesday night from one of the girls and I was so excited…until I realized she had some bad news.  She called to tell me that Martha’s dad had been delivered to the pearly-white gates of heaven. It had been expected, but still…my heart is heavy this week. So I’m thinking of and praying for my dear friend and her mom, “Whoosh.”