There's nothing magic about sitting down to a hot breakfast. Posture and temperature aren't indicators of either goodness or nutrition.
Since so many of us eat on the fly and want portable food for the car or the bus stop, we have to find or make a breakfast food that travels well. That means something with few crumbs, no dribbles and edible with one hand.Sounds like muffins to me.
Most people love muffins but are familiar only with the store-bought variety. What a shame. The muffins you bake yourself are less crumbly and cakey than those you buy commercially. When you bake homemade muffins, you control the sugar, the fat and the size. Controlling your appetite is something else.
Muffins are delicious as well as nutritious. With additions of nuts, cheese, dried or fresh fruit and cereal flakes, you can pack a wallop of goodness into a serving. Muffins are good all 'round the clock, too. They make a good mid-morning or after-school snack. With a piece of cheese and an apple, you have a good light lunch.
Quick and simple to prepare, they are best eaten fresh and hot straight from the oven. You say you don't have time to fuss in the morning? The food police won't arrest you if you take shortcuts. Here are some alternative ways to have your muffin and eat it, too.
- Fast - Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls the night before and refrigerate the wet ones. All you have to do in the morning is turn on the oven, combine the two mixtures, and spoon out the batter into a muffin tin.
- Faster - For super easy preparation, make a user-friendly refrigerator type muffin with ready-to-bake batter that can sit for three weeks in the refrigerator. Most muffins bake in about 20 minutes, just about the time it takes to shower, shave and do your hair.
- Fastest - For the really tight schedule, there's even a muffin version that bakes in the microwave in its own paper cup and you can make them one at a time.
- Bake ahead and freeze - A good time to bake is after supper before the kitchen gets a cleanup. Put together a recipe and clean all the dishes while the goodies bake. It will seem easier that way. Remove them from the freezer as needed and pop into the toaster oven.
Muffin batter doesn't take to leisurely attention. Once the wet ingredients are added to the dry ones, the batter should be mixed quickly, lightly and only until the mixture is evenly moistened. Home economics teachers used to call this procedure "the muffin method," and it's often used for other quick breads and simple cakes. If you overmix, you'll get leaden muffins.
Take care not to overbake them either, or they'll get dry and hard. Muffins start to pull away from the sides of the cups when done. Use a toothpick or cake tester to test for doneness.
To save on calories, use a vegetable-oil spray to grease muffin tins. To save on time and clean up, always make a double batch and put the extras into the freezer.
There's one hitch that is frustrating to home cooks, and that's pan size. Recipes and pan sizes don't always match and that throws off baking time and yield. A traditional muffin pan cup measures 4 ounces. Newer pans measure 5 or 6 ounces. Tiny pans yield two mini-muffins per average solo one. You just have to watch the time and temperature if you play around with size.
To make the mega-size muffins like the ones that muffin shops make, you need a mega-size pan. But who needs to store yet another piece of equipment? Instead, you can use individual standard Pyrex custard cups. Muffins will be triple size and knobby topped.
If you want to make monster muffins of commercial size, a word of caution: Not every batter is adaptable, and not just any old batter can be substituted. The batter must be on the dry side because you heap it to the tops of custard cups. As the muffins bake, they peak over the top and form a high golden crust. A loose batter will flow and form a mushroom-like top.
Remember that eating a monster muffin is the equivalent of two - and sometimes three - smaller home-baked ones.
Blueberry Orange Muffins
1/4 cup shortening
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
2/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
11/3 cups flour
1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries Cream shortening and brown sugar; stir in egg whites, milk, orange juice and orange peel. Blend in dry ingredients with liquid; stir just until blended. Fold in blueberries. Bake in paper-lined medium muffin cups at 400 degrees for 18 minutes. Makes 1 dozen muffins.
Orange and Almond Mega-Muffins
21/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
21/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 large egg
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
Confectioners' sugar In large bowl, mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, soda and salt until blended. Stir in almonds. Push mixture up sides of bowl to form a well in center. In small bowl, combine milk, orange juice, butter, egg and orange peel; mix to blend. Pour liquid mixture into well of flour mixture, mixing lightly to blend. Batter should be lumpy.
Spoon mixture equally into four greased 6-ounce custard cups (set cups at least 2 inches apart on a shallow baking pan) or 6 greased muffin cups 21/2 to 23/4 inches in diameter (fill alternate muffin cups); cups will be heaping full. Sprinkle each muffin lightly with confectioners' sugar.
Bake filled custard cups at 375, or filled muffin cups at 400 degrees, until a slender wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes for custard-cup-size muffins, 25 to 30 minutes for smaller ones. Let cool about 5 minutes. Makes 4 huge or 6 large muffins.
Good Morning Microwave Bran Muffins
11/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup bran cereal
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup sesame seed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup salad oil
3 tablespoons dark molasses
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 large egg In large bowl, combine flour, bran cereal, wheat germ, sesame seed, baking soda and salt. In a medium-size bowl, mix buttermilk, water, brown sugar, oil, molasses, orange peel and egg. Add liquid ingredients to dry, stirring just to blend; batter will be lumpy. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or up to 21/2 weeks.
Bake as needed in the microwave using a microwave safe pan.
Place one or two muffins into the microwave at a time. Cook one muffin at High (full power) 45 to 60 seconds; cook 2 muffins for 1 minute 10 seconds to 2 minutes.
Rotate muffins halfway through if baking appears uneven. Tiny bubbles will pop on surface, and muffin will look dry on top when done.
To test, open oven and touch top of muffin lightly; it will feel moist but should spring back without sticking to your finger. If needed, cook on High an additional 5 to 10 seconds at a time until done. Let stand 30 to 60 seconds. Makes 18 muffins, eventually.
Mighty Bran Muffins
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
11/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter 6 cups of an extra-large muffin pan. In a bowl, place all dry ingredients and fruit and nuts. In a smaller separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients quickly with only a few strokes - do not overmix. Quickly spoon into cups of muffin pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Makes 6 muffins.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
2 large eggs
1 cup water
6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
11/3 cups buttermilk biscuit mix
2/3 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon strawberry or raspberry jelly per muffin In mixing bowl or food processor with metal blade, combine eggs, water, peanut butter and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Add biscuit mix, wheat germ and sugar; mix until dry ingredients are incorporated. Do not overmix. Spoon batter into greased or paper-lined 21/2-inch muffin pans, filling them three-fourths full. Top each with 1/2 teaspoon jelly. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Good to freeze. Makes 12 muffins.
- From Year-Round Holiday Cookbook
Applesauce Muffins
11/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/4 cup honey
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup raisins In a large bowl, beat together the applesauce, egg, oil and honey. Set bowl aside. In a medium bowl, combine whole-wheat and white flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add this to applesauce mixture, stirring just to moisten dry ingredients. Stir in raisins, and divide batter among 12 greased muffin cups. Bake muffins in a preheated 375-degree oven for 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.
- From Jane Brody's Good Food Book