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Basic Muffin Recipe with Variations

in Diana's Recipe Book

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(total ratings: 30)
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Servings: 10-12 muffins
 
Comments:
Muffins are not just for breakfast anymore. They are great for an after school snack, as a dessert or served with dinner. Flavors can be added to change the whole taste of the muffin. Toppings can be added and ingredients can be mixed right into the batter. If you're having your muffin for dinner, try adding something savory into the batter, not something sweet. With the basic muffin recipe, the possibilities are endless! Try a little of this and a little of that until you find the muffin that's perfect for you.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Instructions:
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add egg, milk and oil to dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened. Do not over mix. Grease or line muffin tins with paper baking cups. Fill about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees F/200 degrees C for about 20-25 minutes.

Makes 10-12 muffins.

VARIATIONS:

Now comes the fun part! You can change this recipe to make hundreds of different variations. How about blueberries in the batter with cinnamon topping? Maybe peanut butter chips in the batter and jelly as a topping? Find an add-in or a topping you like from the lists below, and you're on your way to creating an original muffin all your own. Maybe you would like a flavoring and a topping? How about just an add-in? The choice is yours.

ADD-INS

SWEET:

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup chopped, peeled apples
3/4 cup chopped dates
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup pecans, walnuts or almonds
1 cup flaked coconut
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup raisins
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup drained canned pineapple

SAVORY:

1 can chopped green chiles, drained
Small can of whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup grated cheese (Cheddar, Muenster, Swiss, Monterey Jack)
1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
1/2 cup chopped green onions


FLAVORINGS

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Replace the milk in the recipe with pineapple juice or apple juice
1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
1 1/2 tsp. pure orange extract

TOPPINGS

SWEET:
Add 1 teaspoon of your favorite jelly to top of each muffin before baking
Finely chopped nuts
Cinnamon
Granola
Brown sugar

SAVORY:
Crumbled bacon
Grated cheese
Sunflower seeds

Tips to help you make the perfect muffin:

Don't over-mix! Stir the batter until the dry ingredients are just moist. The batter should be lumpy. Over-mixing will result in a tough muffin.

Make sure to grease the muffing tins or use paper baking cups. This is especially important if you're baking a low-fat recipe which tends to stick. Remove muffins from tins as soon as you take them out of the oven. Remove the paper liners as soon as the muffin is cool enough to handle to prevent sticking as well.

Muffins are best when they're hot out of the oven. If you're not using a topping, you can brush the tops of each muffin with melted butter, if desired, to give a nice appearance.

About the Author: Donna Smith is an iParenting contributing writer and the Kids in the Kitchen Guide for Suite101.

Source: Recipestoday.com
Date: May 20, 2007

Reviews

Reviewer: Lou (Blackpool, England)
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Review:
I've been searching for a basic American muffin recipe for ages. This one is easy to follow and delicious to eat. I flavoured my first batch with peanut butter and banana....more attempts to follow!

 
Reviewer: cait
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the muffins were just so luscious. they tasted so yummy. i nearly ended up eating the whole batch. they were so nice.

 
Reviewer: Naima
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brilliant recipe!

 
Reviewer: jenna
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this recipe seems great i hope mine turn out good.

 
Reviewer: afnaan
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i loved the recipe............thanks alot

 
Reviewer: Karyn Greenwood
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Great recipe! Easy to experiment with your own flavors. High Altitude Baking (over 5,000ft) use 1 cup of milk.

 
Reviewer: taya
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Amazing!!! I replaced the white flour for whole wheat and the oil for one of the single serving sizes of unsweetened apple sauce. Also I used brown sugar splenda in place of the white sugar. Because the recipe has no fat I didn't use muffin cups, just sprayed the muffin tins with non stick cooking spray. 20 minutes was the perfect time. I make them all the time!

 
Reviewer: taya
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Amazing!!! I replaced the white flour for whole wheat and the oil for one of the single serving sizes of unsweetened apple sauce. Also I used brown sugar splenda in place of the white sugar. Because the recipe has no fat I didn't use muffin cups, just sprayed the muffin tins with non stick cooking spray. 20 minutes was the perfect time. I make them all the time!

 
Reviewer: Jenny C.
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This is awful! As i was mixing, the dough acted like i was making bread. They were dry as the Sahara after 1 day. Don't make these.

 
Reviewer: Bobbi
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This is an awesome basic recipe with infinite possibilities! I have made several different varieties of muffins with this recipe that have been very KID approved! IE Apple/Carrot, Cranberry/Orange, Banana/Choc Chip, Orange/Banana/Pineapple, Apple Cinn Raisin. I use whole wheat flour instead of bleached. I also use applesauce in place of oil. Good Luck!

 
Reviewer: Gigi
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Great recipe! I used 3/4 cup of white chocolate chunks and 1 cup of fresh raspberries. The batter is not very sweet but I prefer it that way. Make sure to mix the baking powder and salt well into the batter or you may taste chunks of it! But overall a great recipe, can't wait to try other variations! Thank you!

 
Reviewer: rang
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Great. My son and I like the taste and texture, but my wife found it a little dry. Will try to do it again and will add egg and butter instead of the vegetable oil.

 
Reviewer: melissa
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Fantastic basic recipe and turns out great every single time!!!

 
Reviewer:  Amita
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There are horrible, 2 tablespoons of baking powder? They are dry and all I taste is the baking powder. What a waste of ingredients. Will not make these again.

 
Reviewer: Peter
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Very Good Flaver and texture. Very tasty and soft. Our Whole family loved it!

 
Reviewer: Patricia Genovese
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Very moist muffins. Used 3 tsp. baking powder instead of 2 tbsp. Have been trying different recipes for muffins. This recipe is the best so far. Don't be tempted to over-mix. That is the trick.

 
Reviewer: Nisha Balwatkar
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Excellent recipe. I tried 4 recipes until now and this turned out the best. Great for breakfast. I will make more with same recipe. I used butter instead of oil as I had lots of butter leftover. It is dry but I liked it. I think that's the perfect way muffins should be. Other recipes have mixed muffins with the cupcakes.

 
Reviewer: ZGold
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First attempt: forgot to add egg; mixture quite doughy, but came out fairly tasty, even if bearing more resemblance to rock cakes. Second attempt: remembered egg, but mixture still very doughy; added extra milk until it reached the texture of slightly runny porridge. Currently still in the oven, but so far looking much more 'muffiny'.

 
Reviewer: Nick
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Delicious muffins and took five minutes to make. So many different variations to try. Thanks!

 
Reviewer: Mary Ellen Maddox
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Didn't you mean 2 teaspoons of baking powder?

 
Reviewer: Secret Secret
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Really good and easy recipe! Made it so many times!

 
Reviewer: Zirensia
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Excellent! But I think there is too little sugar. My first attempt, following the recipe, turned out quite tasteless, so I tried and added about 1/2 a cup more sugar and it turned out really good! Easy to make and delicious to eat. I brought them to my seminar class and they were all gone in the first 15 minutes!

 
Reviewer: Sammie from Pakistan
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Oh brilliant! Although I added more sugar because my family has a sweet tooth. I just topped them off with chocolate topping I made, mixed milk, cocoa powder and icing sugar. Made it a thick consistency. Tasted great! Fabulous recipe.

 
Reviewer: Brenda Lambert
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I was looking for a healthier muffin recipe, but all that I tried turned out bland and dry. I decided to go with this recipe and made the following changes. Instead of all purpose flour I used a combination of whole wheat and oat flour and added a little flax seed meal. I substituted unrefined coconut oil for the vegetable oil and sweetened with agave nectar and honey. I also opted for egg beaters instead of a whole egg. I made coconut choc chip and cranberry banana with pecans. Both batches turned out to be wonderful and extremely healthy.

 
Reviewer: Bonnie
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Wish I would have read the commits before I made my first batch. To much baking powder taste and dry. Hopefully this next batch with less baking powder and more milk and sugar they will be better.

 
Reviewer: Erma
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Oh, forgot to add that it should be 2 tsp. baking soda, not 2 tbsp.

 
Reviewer: Erma
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These muffins were moist and tender and just what I wanted a basic muffin that I can doctor any way I like. I always gauge the doneness of foods cooked in the oven by smell. Once the muffins smelled, I knew it was time to test for doneness which was 18 minutes in my stove, all the time that was needed. I did add 4 ounces of applesauce to the basic recipe and 1/4 cup pecans. My husband likes his muffin slightly sweeter. I don't. But I will add a tablespoon of honey the next time I cook these. This one is a winner and will replace my delicious but too sweet muffin recipe.

 
Reviewer: Tracey Worsfold
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I have looked for ages for easy and simple muffin recipes. I am so glad I found this site!! I have just acquired a halogen cooker and cannot wait to try out some of these recipes. Thank you!

 
Reviewer: Palusami
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Turned out pretty good! I started mixing dry ingredients, then realized I didn't have milk! So I substituted with water. Baked for 15 minutes. Added butter right after removing from oven. Very moist!

 
Reviewer: Victoria
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This is the only recipe that I found for simple ones. Hope they taste good @ school!

 

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