Buttermilk Crumb Muffins - TWD: Baking with Julia

Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia - 20th Installment.  The recipe is Buttermilk Crumb Muffins

So many things I could say...

• "Crumb" is right!
• All that shortening, and they still wouldn't come out of the pan!

When I saw the description "flat topped muffin", I was a bit leery - often that means a wet batter than makes a muffin that won't release from the pan.  I really DID grease the pan, and followed the recipe to the letter (made a half recipe, but otherwise, did exactly what it said).  For the half recipe, I used one regular-sized 6 muffin pan, and another 6 muffin pan with small wells.

I started off optimistically - a recipe by Marion Cunningham, written and edited by Julia and Dorie - how could it go wrong?  I added some additional nutmeg (any baker who hasn't tried using fresh nutmeg should definitely give it a try - it is wonderfully fragrant).

The first sign of trouble was the fact that each muffin  was flat, except for a dent in the center, when they came out of the oven.

The process of attempting to remove them from the pans turned ugly - not a single one came out without the bottom sticking to the pan, and needing to be pulled out separately, as in this photo:

Good thing I wasn't making these for company!

They were very tasty and well-liked by the crowd, but unless I get a sense of where this went wrong, I may not make this one again. I will be interested to read other people's experiences with this recipe.