Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins — Three Many Cooks (2024)

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Pam Anderson| |5 Comments

Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins — Three Many Cooks (1)

Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins

Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins — Three Many Cooks (2)

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Makes 1 dozen large, 18 medium, and 4 dozen mini muffins as well as 4 mini quick-bread loaves Make sure to check your muffin cup capacity. Some muffin cups are smaller than the ½-cup called for in this recipe.

Ingredients

  • Flavorings (see specific recipes below)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1½ cups plain low-fat yogurt

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees (or 450 degrees for mini muffins). Prepare Flavorings. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
  2. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, then alternating ⅓ at a time, beat in the dry ingredients and yogurt until a smooth, thick batter just forms. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with ½-cup capacity (or four 12-cup mini muffin tins) with vegetable cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among the cups. (A spring-action regular or mini ice cream scoop works well. The muffin cups will be full.) Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 12 minutes for the mini muffins and about 25 for the larger ones. Set pan(s) on a wire rack to cool slightly, remove muffins and continue to cool or serve.

Here’s a few variations, but I’ve given you the key to create your own.

Sweet Tender Muffins With Dates and Walnuts: Mix 1 cup each: chopped dates and toasted walnuts with the dry ingredients and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract with the eggs

Sweet Tender Muffins with Chocolate and Cherries: Mix 1 cup each: coarsely chopped dried cherries and miniature chocolate chips with the dry ingredients and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract with the eggs.

Sweet Tender Muffins with Pineapple, Coconut, and Ginger: Mix 1 cup each: coarsely chopped dried pineapple chunks, 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, and 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon with the dry ingredients.

Sweet Tender Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins: Mix 3 tablespoons poppy seeds and 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest with the dry ingredients. Spoon half the batter into each muffin cup. Dipping the bowl of a spoon in water as necessary, make a well in each cup of batter. Drop a heaping teaspoon (or 1/4 teaspoon for mini muffins) of lemon curd in each well. Top with remaining batter.

Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins — Three Many Cooks (3)

About Pam Anderson

Pam Anderson considers herself Every Cook. A New York Times bestselling author, she has been cooking nearly everyday for over 30 years. With seven published books, she brings satisfying recipes and sage advice to both novice and veteran cooks. Whether you’re on a quest for the perfect brownie, wanting to get dinner on the table effortlessly, hoping to entertain more simply, attempting to shed pounds permanently, or looking to eat delicious meatless, Pam can help. AARP’s official food expert, she is a chef contributor at Runner’s World magazine. Pam is former Executive Editor of Cook’s Illustrated magazine. Her food articles have appeared in many food magazines. She teaches cooking classes across the country and appears frequently on TV and radio. She currently is blogging at her new site, Copper House Events.

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5 Comments

  1. Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins — Three Many Cooks (4)Bonnie Lawrence says

    Wow! These muffins are great! I made cranberry & orange zest muffins. Yum!!! I only used 1/3-cup per muffin. I could have used 1/2-cup to get that gorgeous “spilling over muffin top.” I am very excited to come up with new flavor combinations! Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  2. Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins — Three Many Cooks (5)Kat says

    I’ve been looking for a “master recipe” like this! These look scrumptious. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  3. Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins — Three Many Cooks (6)c. brotsky says

    these muffins turned out awful–1st they never got golden brown and I baked them for over 45min. Then they were very heavy and not baked inside very much. They never raised like other muffins do. I never experienced such a disaster. With all that yogurt that might be the cause. What happend ?

    Reply

  4. Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins — Three Many Cooks (7)jess says

    Made these today with some fresh peaches and they were great! i only had greek yogurt on hand but they still came out really yummy! very fluffy and moist not too dark but just golden 🙂 thanks!

    Reply

  5. Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins — Three Many Cooks (8)Jade says

    Fabulous muffins!!!

    Reply

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Master Recipe for Sweet Tender Muffins — Three Many Cooks (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to moist muffins? ›

How to Make Homemade Muffins Moist: Our Top Tips
  1. Tips to Make Homemade Muffins Moist.
  2. Keep Wet and Dry Ingredients Separately.
  3. Add All Flavorings Last.
  4. Consider Paper Liners.
  5. Don't Overfill the Muffin Cups.
  6. Check the Temperature of Your Oven.
  7. Test if Muffins Are Fully Cooked.
  8. Top Your Muffins with Flavor.
Aug 9, 2021

What is the secret to high muffins? ›

Chilling your muffin batter overnight in the fridge is the BEST thing you can do for amazing muffins. It makes them more moist, tender, and TALLER! It's very similar to chilling cookie dough, which if you know me you know I'm obsessed with chilling cookie dough.

What to add to muffin mix to make it moist? ›

Add greek yogurt to your muffin mix for extra moistness. Top with a vanilla glaze or sugar sprinkles.

Are muffins better with oil or butter? ›

The muffins made with oil had a very light and soft texture, they were perfect! The texture of the oil muffins was superior to the texture of the butter muffins. I will also say using butter is probably best in a recipe that doesn't have a lot of flavor add-ins, like a basic muffin recipe.

What is the best flour for muffins? ›

Cake Flour: The flour with the lowest protein content (5 to 8 percent). The relative lack of gluten-forming proteins makes cake flour ideal for tender baked goods, such as cakes (of course), but also biscuits, muffins and scones.

What does adding an extra egg do to muffins? ›

If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.

Why are Bakery muffins so much better? ›

The best bakery-style crumb muffins start with cake flour

Cake flour is more finely ground and has less protein, which leaves the muffins with a fine, light crumb and soft texture. Using cake flour is an easy way to avoid heavy, dense muffins even if you end up stirring just a bit too much.

How do you keep muffins moist and fluffy? ›

The Best Way to Store Muffins
  1. STEP ONE: Let the muffins cool completely on a wire rack.
  2. STEP TWO: Line an airtight storage container with paper towels.
  3. STEP THREE: Place muffins in the container, on top of the paper towels.
  4. STEP FOUR: Place an additional paper towel layer on top of the muffins.

How to doctor up a muffin mix? ›

Add Fresh or Frozen Fruit to the Batter

Add strawberries to chocolate muffins. You can even experiment with crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges to add a citrus twist to your favorite muffins. We recommend adding 1/2 to 1 cup of fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) fruit. Gently fold into the batter.

Is it better to use milk or water in muffin mix? ›

Q. In a muffin mix that calls for water, can I substitute milk? A. We don't recommend using milk instead of water because the milk can make holes in the paper liners or the sides of the muffins.

What temperature do you bake muffins at? ›

Bake at 350°F (177°C) the whole time. Standard Size Muffins or Mini Muffins: For standard size muffins baked in a 12-count muffin pan, reduce baking time to about 20 total minutes: 5 initial minutes at 425°F and 15 minutes at 350°F. Yields 14-15 standard size muffins.

Why use melted butter in muffins? ›

Melted butter, on the other hand, naturally solidifies when the muffins cool. As a result they have a slightly denser texture than muffins made with oil.

What is the slang butter your muffin? ›

The phrase "butter your muffin" is a slang expression that is often used in a suggestive or flirtatious context to refer to sexual activity. It is considered a euphemism for engaging in intimate or sexual behavior.

Which oil is best for muffins? ›

Best Oils for Baking

Choosing vegetable oil is the best option for baking moist, delicious baked goods. Canola oil, the most common vegetable oil used in baking, doesn't add a strong flavor. It allows your cake's flavor will shine through while still achieving a moist texture.

How do you keep homemade muffins moist? ›

The Best Way to Store Muffins
  1. STEP ONE: Let the muffins cool completely on a wire rack.
  2. STEP TWO: Line an airtight storage container with paper towels.
  3. STEP THREE: Place muffins in the container, on top of the paper towels.
  4. STEP FOUR: Place an additional paper towel layer on top of the muffins.

Why are my muffins not moist? ›

If the muffins are dry, it is possible that they were baked for slightly too long. The oven temperature is slightly higher that you would normally use for cakes, as this helps to give the muffins nicely domed tops, a good crust and a moist interior. This means that the baking time is only 15-20 minutes.

How to get domed muffins? ›

According to O. Corriher, the way to get a perfectly puffed up dome on your muffins is to increase your oven heat. She says that 400° should do it, no matter what the recipe says. The higher baking temperature means that the the outside edges of the muffin will set while the middle is still liquidy.

How to make muffins more moist after baking? ›

Use a steamer. Steaming is a great way to add moisture to past-their-prime muffins. And according to a TikTok user, you should also be steaming your muffins when you bake them since the hot air and steam allow more time for the centers to rise, resulting in tender and airy muffins.

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