Make Better Muffins
Are your muffins tough, bland or boring? Or are you unhappy with the way the kitchen looks after you're finished? Read on for some advice on how to make tasty, tempting muffins in less time and with less mess.
Steps
- Mix your accurately measured dry ingredients together in a bowl that is large enough that you won't end up slopping the contents over the edges when you mix (always avoid mess rather than cleaning it up).
- Combine your accurately measured wet ingredients in a blender rather than a bowl. This allows for better mixing and less mess.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients.
- Mix gently with a spatula or wooden spoon and only until there are no remaining clumps of flour or other dry ingredients. The batter should look lumpy - you're making muffins not cupcakes!
- If your muffins aren't moist enough, consider replacing oil with yogurt (also reduces calories and fat!)
- Place your spatula or wooden spoon either directly in the sink or on a double-folded piece of paper towel or spoon rest on the counter (remember - avoid mess rather than cleaning it up).
- Unless you have good quality non-stick muffin pans use paper cups. Cleaning muffin pans is a thankless job and once washed they seem to become 'stickier' after each use.
- Use an ice cream scoop (the kind with the wire that swipes the inside of the scoop to force the ice cream out) to neatly and evenly distribute batter in each cup.
- Bake at the temperature given by the recipe but set your timer for a couple minutes less than the time given so you can check for tops that are getting too brown. If the tops are brown enough but the muffins are not yet completely baked move the muffins to a lower rack in the oven and place a cookie sheet on the rack above the muffins to keep the tops from browning any further.
Tips
- Raisins and other dried fruit (apricots, prunes) can be resurrected from a shriveled state by soaking in boiling water.
- Put your muffin pan on a cooling rack (rather than directly on the counter) when it comes out of the oven. This will help it cool faster and protects your counter from burns.
- Dry and wet ingredients are NOT measured using the same measuring cups - make sure you use the appropriate measure for the ingredient.
- Take the muffins out of the pan as soon as possible, especially if using metal pans, as this avoids any taste transference from the pan to the muffin.
- Once you have the basics of a recipe down and know it works out well use your creativity to improve it - add some spices, use dried cranberries instead of raisins or add a tasty topping.
- If cooled, reheat in microwave for 30 seconds.
- You can also use a gravy ladle to portion out the muffin batter. This works to evenly distribute the batter.
