Muffins!!!

Many years ago our family moved to Utah. When we moved in, the community was in the process of putting together a community cookbook. Keep in mind this was in the days before computers and cell phones. I think because I was the new girl in town, I was asked to be on a committee to help compile and type the book. We called everyone in the area and asked for as many recipes as they would like to contribute. We then gathered them up and typed them on 4x6 colored index cards – certain colors of cards for main dishes, salads, breads, desserts, etc. – then we punched holes in the top of each card and they were held together with large rings. I used an old manual typewriter to type the cards I did and can I just say how relieved we were when the books were done. They turned out very nice for the most part.

The lady who was over this project was very worried that we weren’t going to have enough recipes to fill the book, or at least make it look interesting, so she gave me lots and lots of her recipes to use as fillers if we didn’t have enough recipes. We had so many recipes come in that we had to use the largest size rings we could find and it was still almost too full, so we ended up not using all of her extra recipes. Well, one of her recipes that we didn’t use in the book (mainly because it was too long to type on an index card) was a muffin recipe.

I have been planning a post about muffins for a long time because they are such a great food storage food and easily adapted to use food storage items. A few weeks ago, I was going through an old recipe binder and came across her recipe. It was called, “Marilyn’s Marvelous Muffin Mix”. When I came across the recipe, I wondered if they really were all that marvelous. I knew I had to try them so I made up some of the muffins and they really are good; a perfect addition to food storage recipes.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can add any fruit or vegetable, spice or extract to the muffins and have literally tons of different variations from one little mix. I like that idea. I made blueberry muffins with a streusel topping and carrot-applesauce muffins also. (I even added zuchinni along with the grated carrots in this one and really like them.) I froze some of each of the muffins, just to see how they freeze and they freeze very well. What a great idea to not only have a homemade muffin mix on hand but to also have some ready to heat and eat in your freezer.

Muffins are filling and nutritious and can be made ahead. You can adapt them to any kind of flour, white or whole wheat or a combination of the two. You can use fresh, frozen or dried fruit, or vegetables, including using a fruit sauce in the batter like applesauce or any blended fruit and they make a great breakfast or snack item. You can add nuts or topping or just have them plain. If you want to substitute powdered eggs for the fresh eggs, just mix the egg powder into the mix and add an extra 2-3 T. water or milk when you make up the muffins.

We like them hot with butter and jam, jelly or honey – a perfect way to use all the jelly on my shelf. Remember if you have dried peach or strawberry flakes in your storage, these muffins are a great way to use them. They are also great with dried chopped dates, apricots or pineapple. There is not a variation for a Rhubarb nut muffin but that is my next experiment. See how many variations you can come up with.

I have also included a recipe for homemade English Muffins. These are a little trickier but interesting to make. They don’t require baking and can be made on the stove-top.

Marilyn’s Marvelous Basic Muffin Mix
8 c. flour
3 c. sugar
3 T. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. salt
2 t. nutmeg
Whisk all ingredients together until well combined. Store in airtight container in a cool dry place. Use within 9 months.

Marilyn’s Marvelous Blueberry Muffins
2 ¾ c. basic muffin mix
1 egg
1 c. milk
½ c. butter, melted or ½ c. oil
1 c. fresh, frozen or drained canned blueberries
Preheat oven to 400º. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Mix egg, milk and butter or oil; add all at once to dry muffin mix. Stir just till moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Gently fold blueberries into batter and fill cups ¾ full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Y: 12 large muffins. Optional Streusel topping: In a small bowl mix 1/3 c. flour, ½ c. sugar and 1 ½ t. cinnamon, Add ¼ c. cold butter, cubed, and blend with a pastry blender or fork until you have pea size crumbs. Sprinkle muffins with crumb topping. Bake at 400º for 20-25 minutes.

Marilyn’s Marvelous Fresh Peach Muffins
2 ¾ c. basic muffin mix
1 egg
1 c. milk
½ c. butter, melted or ½ c. oil
1 c. diced fresh peaches
Preheat oven to 400º. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Mix egg, milk and butter or oil; add all at once to dry muffin mix. Stir just till moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Gently fold peaches into batter and fill cups ¾ full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Y: 12 large muffins.

Marilyn’s Marvelous Fruity Muffins
2 ¾ c. basic muffin mix
1 egg
1 c. milk
½ c. butter, melted or ½ c. oil
1 c. raisins or dried cranberries (any other dried fruits you desire)
Chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 400º. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Mix egg, milk and butter or oil; add all at once to dry muffin mix. Stir just till moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Gently fold raisins, dried cranberries and nuts if desired into batter and fill cups ¾ full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Y: 12 large muffins.

Marilyn’s Marvelous Banana-Pecan Muffins
2 ¾ c. basic muffin mix
1 egg
1 c. milk
½ c. butter, melted or ½ c. oil
1 Banana, mashed (1/2 c. mashed)
½ c. chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 400º. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Mix egg, milk and butter or oil; add mashed banana and add all at once to dry muffin mix. Stir in pecans, stirring just till moistened; batter will be lumpy. Fill cups ¾ full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Y: 12 large muffins.

Marilyn’s Marvelous Cranberry Nut Muffins
2 ¾ c. basic muffin mix
1 egg
1 c. milk
3 T. sugar
½ c. butter, melted or ½ c. oil
1 c. fresh or frozen cranberries
½ c. chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 400º. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Mix egg, milk and butter or oil; add 3 T. sugar to dry muffin mix. Add egg-milk mixture all at once to dry muffin mix. Gently stir in cranberries and nuts, stirring just till moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Fill cups ¾ full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Y: 12 large muffins.

Marilyn’s Marvelous Carrot Cake Muffins
2 ¾ c. basic muffin mix
1 egg
1 c. milk
¼ c. butter, melted
2 T. molasses (optional)
½ c. applesauce
½ c. finely shredded carrots (can substitute shredded zucchini)
½ c. coconut
½ c. raisins (optional)
½ c. chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 400º. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Mix egg, milk and butter, applesauce and molasses (if desired); add all at once to dry muffin mix. Gently stir in carrots, coconut, raisins and nuts, stirring just till moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Fill cups ¾ full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Y: 12 large muffins.

Marilyn’s Marvelous Butterscotch Pecan Muffins
2 ¾ c. basic muffin mix
1 egg
1 c. milk
½ c. butter, melted or ½ c. oil
6 T. butter
6 T. brown sugar
2-3 Pecan halves per muffin
Preheat oven to 400º. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Mix egg, milk and butter or oil; add all at once to dry muffin mix. Stir just till moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Melt 6 T. butter in saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Put 1 T. mixture and 2-3 pecan halves in bottom of each muffin cup. Fill cups ¾ full with batter. Bake 18-20 minutes. Y: 12 large muffins.

Marilyn’s Marvelous Vanilla Muffins
2 ¾ c. basic muffin mix
1 egg
1 c. milk
½ c. butter, melted or ½ c. oil
1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
Preheat oven to 400º. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Stir 1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix into dry muffin mix. Mix egg, milk and butter or oil; add all at once to dry muffin mix. Stir just till moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Fill cups ¾ full with batter. Bake 18-20 minutes. Y: 12 large muffins.

Marilyn’s Marvelous Chocolate Muffins
2 ¾ c. basic muffin mix
1 egg
1 c. milk
½ c. butter, melted or ½ c. oil
1 small pkg. chocolate instant pudding mix (try white chocolate pudding)
½ c. mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 400º. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Stir 1 pkg. chocolate instant pudding mix into dry muffin mix. Mix egg, milk and butter or oil; add all at once to dry muffin mix. Stir in chocolate chips if desired. Stir just till moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Fill cups ¾ full with batter. Bake 18-20 minutes. Y: 12 large muffins.

English Muffins
1 c. hot water
½ c. prepared powdered milk or ½ cup water and 3 T. powdered milk
2 t. honey
2 t. salt
4 c. flour (you can use ½ white ½ whole wheat)
2 t. instant yeast
2 T. oil
Cornmeal
Add water, powdered milk (and water for powdered milk), honey and salt to a mixing bowl. Combine. Add 2 c. of flour and yeast and stir until combined. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise for one hour. Add remaining 2 cups of flour and oil and stir until well combined. Roll out onto a cornmeal covered surface and using a cookie cutter or cup, cut out round shapes. Let cut muffins rise, covered, for another hour. Heat a griddle to medium high heat and grease with a little oil. Grill muffins on both sides until lightly brown and cooked in the middle. Eat fresh!