Magic Muffins

Last Edit August 12, 1999

Teenage boys and grown men like hot things from the oven. That's why there are lots of pop-it dough biscuits and brown and serve breads in the supermarket. Quick breads include muffins, biscuits, coffeecake, pancakes, waffles, popovers and nut breads. Muffins are the easiest - you really don't use a mixer - just a wooden-handle spatula or wooden spoon. You do not over beat. The batter should be lumpy - the flour just barely mixed in.

You fill the muffin cups 2/3rds full and place in a heated oven at once. They cook quickly (20-25 minutes) and you serve them warm with butter, margarine, jelly, jam, honey or cinnamon-sugar.

Muffins are great for breakfast - especially Sunday morning brunch. Saturday and Sunday mornings are really the only time most of us working mothers have to bake something for breakfast. They are also the days we have to do laundry, clean house, do the shopping and run errands. So the speed of mixing, the ease of baking make muffins a perfect choice.

Basic Sweet Muffins

Mix together
1/3 Cup shortening (Crisco; margarine or ICBINB)
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 large egg
Sift together
1 1/2 Cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
Stir it in alternating with
1/2 Cup skim milk
Do not over beat. Mix until all dry ingredients are moistened.

Fill greased muffin cups (spray with Pam) 2/3rds full and place in pre-heated 350 degree oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Muffins may be tested with a toothpick, or tapped with your finger to test for doneness. They should not be doughy in the center.
Tip out of pan and place on a rack to cool slightly.

Melt 1/3 Cup margarine or butter

Place in a small bowl and stir together:
1/2 Cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Dip top of muffins into the melted butter or margarine and then in the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Serve at once. (Best served warm.)

Blueberry Muffins

Add
1 Cup blueberries to the batter just before cooking.

These are EXCELLENT!

Surprize Muffins

Fill muffin cups 1/3 full
place 1 teaspoon of jam or jelly in the center of the dough
fill the cups to the 2/3 mark
proceed as before.

Basic Low-Fat Sweet Muffins

Mix together
1/3 Cup applesauce
1 Tablespoon Canola oil
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 large egg or 1/4 Cup egg substitute
Sift together
1 1/2 Cup flour plus 1 heaping tablespoon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
Stir it in alternating with
1/3 Cup skim milk
Do not over beat. Mix until all dry ingredients are moistened.

Fill greased muffin cups 2/3rds full and place in pre-heated 350 degree oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Muffins may be tested with a toothpick, or tapped with your finger to test for doneness. They should not be doughy in the center.
Tip out of pan and place on a rack to cool slightly.

Melt 1/3 Cup margarine or butter

Place in a small bowl and stir together
1/2 Cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Dip top of muffins into the melted butter or margarine and then in the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Serve at once. (Best served warm.)

Of course, the sugar completely ruins the fact that these are low-fat muffins. So a better choice would be serve them split open, warm with natural honey.

My teenager has sampled both and has approved them claiming he "couldn't tell the difference". The low-fat ones have a higher rise and are smoother than their regular cousins. But he's right, they do taste the same. With all the spices, how could they not?