Basic Muffin Making

I found a basic muffin recipe from Parade Magazine, which is published weekly in the Los Angeles Times. I was tired of having toast every morning for breakfast so I wanted to change up my routine with muffins, especially since I'm rushing to get to work every morning. I like the fact that on the side of the recipe it gives you a variety of options that you can mix with your basic muffin recipe, whether it's cinnamon sugar or oatmeal raisin it is very easy to add your own mix to it. I had some bananas just lying there lifeless because of the heat so I decided to use them before they went bad and added chocolate chips as well. I also loved the fact that it took me less than 30 minutes to prepare, which was easy for me since I get home late. So here is a quick & easy recipe for anyone to do!

Basic Breakfast Muffins (Makes 1 dozen)

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 egss
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil*
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

* substitute applesauce for oil to cut the calories

Variety of options to add to basic mix:

Banana Chocolate Chip
1 mashed banana
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Cinnamon Sugar
Sprinkle muffin tops with a mixture of 3 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon before baking

Blueberry Streusel
Stir 1 cup of blueberries into batter. Before baking, top muffins with streusel: Combine 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tbsp cubed butter.

Oatmeal Raisin
Stir 1 cup raisins into batter and sprinkle muffin tops with rolled oats.

Rasberry Almond
Fill muffin cups a third of the way with batter and spoon 1 tsp seedless jam into each, making sure not to touch edges of the pan. Top with more batter. Spinkle with silvered almonds before baking.

Lemon Poppy Seed
Substitute 1 tsp lemon extract for vanilla and add 2 tbsp poppy seeds to batter.

Apple Pie
Mix in 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 to 1 cup chopped apple.

Pineapple Coconut
Stir 1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut and 1/4 cup drained, chopped canned pineapple into batter. Sprinkle each muffin with 1 tsp coconut before baking.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or line muffin cups with paper liners.

 2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk, oil (or applesauce), and vanilla for 1 minute on medium. Add flour mixture. Beat just until no streaks of flour remain-do not overmix!

3. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until tops of muffins spring back when pressed lightly. Transfer muffins to a rack to cool slightly.