Muffin Making Tips Recipe

Ingredients

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• Muffin Pans shopping list
• A special metal baking pan, sometimes referred to as a muffin tin, with 6 or 12 cup-shaped depressions. Most often this pan is made from aluminum. shopping list
• The sizes of muffin cups are: shopping list
• Standard muffin cup is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter. shopping list
• Giant or Texas-size muffin cup is about 3 ½ inches in diameter and holds 5/8 cup batter. shopping list
• Miniature muffin cup is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and holds 1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons batter. shopping list
• Muffin-top cup is about 4 inches in diameter but are only 1/2 inch deep. shopping list
• Substituting a Different Size Muffin Cup shopping list
• Substitute another size muffin cup for original size listed in recipe. If substituting a larger size muffin cup the recipe will yield fewer muffins and if using smaller size muffin cup the recipe will yield more muffins. The bake time will be changed also. Bake a larger muffin longer than the original time and smaller muffins a shorter time. shopping list
• Tips On Baking Muffins shopping list
• Grease muffin cups by spraying each cup with no stick cooking spray or using a paper towel dipped in shortening to grease each cup. shopping list
• For rounded tops on muffins grease only the bottom of the cup and halfway up the side of the cup. shopping list
• Use paper liners in muffin cups for easy clean-up. shopping list
• If muffin cups are filled more than 3/4 full the muffins will have flat, “flying saucer” tops. If sufficient room is not allowed for muffins to expand before reaching the top of the cup the muffin will flatten on top. shopping list
• If some muffin cups will remain empty during baking, put 2 to 3 tablespoons water in the unused muffin cups to keep the pan from warping. shopping list
• If baked muffins stick to the bottom of the muffin cup, place hot muffin pan on a wet towel for about two minutes. shopping list
• Source: Land O' Lakes shopping list
• All About Muffins shopping list
• Are You Eating Muffins or Cupcakes? shopping list
• Hot breads are always a hit and muffins are one of the easiest to make. They are more quickly and easily made than biscuits and no kneading, rolling or cutting is required. They can be a savory, last minute dinner muffin or a sweet delicious breakfast muffin. Made using whole-wheat flour, wheat germ, bran, honey, fruits and nuts they can be very nutritious. But like the healthy granola craze which turned into candy bars, muffins also can quickly turn into cupcakes. Eating cupcakes for breakfast is your choice, but don't tell yourself you are eating healthy breakfast muffins. A recent magazine article revealed some muffins available in New York delicatessens were claimed to be low fat, but actually contained up to 23 grams of fat. That's more fat than two egg McMuffins. shopping list
• What is the Difference Between Muffins and Cupcakes? shopping list
• Some say cupcakes have frosting. A basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tablespoons sugar, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, shortening or butter, 1 cup milk. When the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level. shopping list
• Other Technical Difference Between Muffins and Cupcakes shopping list
• The method of cooking is different for muffins and cupcakes. The muffin method is by far the fastest and easiest. flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (all the dry ingredients) are mixed together. This is where the leavening can be uniformly dispersed into the flour. sugar is mixed with the flour to prevent the flour from lumping when combined with the wet ingredients. shopping list
• Making and Baking Muffins shopping list
• In a large bowl, oil (or melted butter) and egg are beaten together to form an emulsion to disperse the fat more uniformly. Then the milk is stirred in. This much mixing can be done ahead and held. The two are combined just before baking. shopping list
• To combine, cut and fold liquid into the dry ingredients. Mix only to combine. Batter will be lumpy but no pockets of dry ingredients should remain. The general rule is only 12 strokes. shopping list
• Bake as soon as it's mixed. When filling cups, do not mix batter between scoops. Excessive mixing causes loss of leavening. shopping list
• The cake Method for Making Muffins shopping list
• Sometimes muffins are made using the cake method, i.e. cream the fat and sugar, add eggs, add the dry ingredients and milk alternately. This is more time consuming but produces a lighter, more tender, cake-like muffin. shopping list
• The Perfect Muffin shopping list
• The perfect muffin has a thin brown crust, a slightly rounded top with a pebbled appearance and a moist, even interior. There should be no peaks, no tunnels which are usually caused by excessive mixing and too much liquid (muffin batter should not be fluid). shopping list
• More Leavening is Not Better shopping list
• Just because a recipe is in print does not mean that it is in balance. A guide for leavening 2 cups of flour in a recipe is either 2 1/2 teaspoons double acting baking powder, or 4 teaspoons fast acting baking powder, or 1/2 teaspoon soda plus 1 cup buttermilk (for the acid) and 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder. Excess baking powder and soda taste bitter. shopping list
• Here Are a Few Tips For Altering Muffin Recipes: shopping list
• Substitute 2 egg whites for one egg in the recipe. If these are stiffly beaten and folded in at the end it will produce a lighter muffin with less fat. shopping list
• Use non-fat milk instead of whole milk. shopping list
• Use salad oil in place of butter. In place of the fat in the recipe, use one-fourth of the oil and replace the other three-fourths with fruit purée such as applesauce. Jars of baby food fruits provide a quick choice of purées other than apple. Adding non-gluten grain products (bran, germ, oatmeal, corn meal) for part of the flour makes a more tender muffin. shopping list
• Create Your Own Taste Sensations shopping list
• Begin with the basic formula and change 1/2 cup of the flour to corn meal, bran, wheat germ, rye, oatmeal or leftover cooked cereal. Add 1/2 to one cup chopped apple, dates, prunes, raisins, apricots, figs, blueberries, cranberries, cheese, nuts. shopping list
• Make your favorite muffin mixes by measuring the dry ingredients twice (or more ) into two separate bowls. Use one and package one with the list of wet ingredients to be added when mixing at a later date. shopping list