Recipe: Universal Muffins

This recipe comes from Amy Dacyzyn's Tightwad Gazette, with a few tips from The Best of Betterbaking.com and my own variations

I love to make muffins for breakfast (and snacks), but I don't always have the ingredients to follow a particular recipe. Then I came upon this idea for using what you have on hand to concoct some seriously yummy muffins. I had some blueberries in the fridge the day of this shoot, so that's what I used. But I've also made apple, peach, banana, pumpkin, cranberry, and even pear muffins using the same basic recipe. 

Here you go:

• 2 to 2 1/2 cups grain (as in flour-whatever kind you have on hand. You can use half whole wheat if you want, or grind some oats in the blender to make some oat flour)

• 1 cup milk, or buttermilk, or milk that has been soured with vinegar (1tsp vinegar to 1 cup milk)

• Up to 1/4 cup fat. (I use 1/2 cup vegetable oil, but you could use melted butter too.)

• 1 egg (you can replace the egg using 1 full tablespoon of soy flour and 1 tablespoon water)

• Up to 1/2 cup sweetener (My family likes them sweeter, so I use 1 cup white sugar or 1 cup brown sugar.)

• 2 teaspoons baking powder 

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla (optional)

• 1 tablespoon grated citrus zest (optional)

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, but really tasty with the fruit additions)

• 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 additions. This could be chopped fruit, fresh or frozen berries, shredded zucchini, or carrot, pumpkin purée, applesauce, mashed banana, cranberries, etc. 

Topping

Sprinkle brown or white sugar on top. 

Or, make some streusel topping:

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together with a fork or your fingers in a small bowl. Set aside for later.

Mix dry ingredients together with a whisk. Mix wet ingredients together (sometimes I just throw the wet ingredients in the blender to mix). Then mix the wet with the dry ingredients and fold in the additions. Spray or grease your muffin tins and fill until two thirds full. Sprinkle on topping and pop in the oven. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. 

Comments

[MaryB]

This sounds yummy! We like muffins here, too! :)
Can't wait to try it.

[shelby]

This is seriously the best idea...one recipe, tons of variations! I've added a sprinkling of brown sugar on my homemade breads ever since you brought over that yummy banana bread.

...now can you post a universal dinner recipe? :) I'd love to widdle down my cookbook collection!