Muffins, Muffins, Muffins!

I bought a muffin tray but I never used it for 4 years as I was under the impression that it would not fit into my microwave oven. Only last week I realized that all I had to do was turn the tray around and put it inside the oven. Duh!!!! I am on a muffin baking spree now. Started off with the plain muffins. Just google muffin recipes and you will get lot of recipes on the web. I liked this one as it seemed fairly simple to make.

Plain Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
5 tbsps butter

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Melt the butter and let it cool but do not let it solidify. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and then add the sugar, milk and vanilla to the eggs. Pour melted butter into the egg mixture little by little and stir till it is all incorporated. Keep a muffin tray ready with paper muffin liners. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix no more than 10 seconds. Do not overmix. Batter should be lumpy and it is allright if there are pockets of dry flour. Pour the batter into the muffin pan and bake immediately for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Cheese Olive Muffins (makes 6 mini muffins)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar or any other cheese of your liking)
1/4 cup black olives, chopped finely

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Mix flours, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, oil and buttermilk. Add this to the dry mixture and mix gently until well combined. Mix in cheese and olives. Do not overmix. Pour into the muffin tray and bake for 18-20 minutes. Like my niece says, these muffins are fantastico.

Banana Muffins

Check out this banana muffin recipe from tastypalettes.