Easy Homemade Muffins

Easy Homemade Muffins is a simple, low sodium, muffin recipe for making a variety of delicious muffins without additives, preservatives, and artificial colors and flavors added to most store bakery and mass-produced muffins.

Muffins can be frozen, thawed in about 30 minutes at room temperature, and reheated in a microwave oven. I use 30 to 40 seconds on 60 to 70 percent power to reheat 2 small muffins.

Type of Flour

This recipe originally called for cake flour to reduce gluten build up for super moist muffins. I’ve updated the recipe replacing cake flour with pastry flour available in most major markets and online. You still have the option of using all-purpose cake flour.

If pastry flour is not available in your area, you can make pastry flour be combining all-purpose and cake flours. Cake flour has less gluten for lighter textured muffins. For some people, the texture of cake flour muffins may be too cake like.

Muffin Making Secrets

The secret to light, moist, muffins is minimal mixing to reduce gluten formation, and baking just until a wood toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Over mixing, especially when using all-purpose flour, and over baking will produce tough, dry muffins.

Oven temperatures vary. If your oven runs hot, decrease the temperature 25°F (15°C) or the baking time. Temperatures for this recipe are for conventional ovens, decrease oven temperature per your owners manual for convection ovens.

Yield

This recipe makes 12 small or 6 large muffins. You can also make miniature muffins. Mini muffin yield will vary depending on pan size.

This recipe can be doubled.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition information is for the base recipe using 1/2 cup (100 g) of sugar. Subtract 15 calories when using 1/3 cup (65 g) sugar. Fruit adds about 10 calories for a small muffin. One-half cup (60 g) of chopped nuts about 30 calories per muffin.

Photos: Small banana nut muffins, large apple muffins, and miniature blueberry muffins.

Other Muffin Recipes

Blueberry

Banana Nut Chocolate Chip

Easy Double Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups (200 g) pastry flour
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup (70-100 g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking powder
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) whole or 2% milk
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) vegetable oil (canola, soy)
• Additional granulated sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)
• For Banana Muffins
• Add 1 medium banana, diced or mashed
• For Banana Nut Muffins
• Add to dry ingredients 1 medium banana, diced or mashed
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground cinnamon
• For Apple or Pear Muffins
• Add to dry ingredients 1/2 to 3/4 cup peeled, chopped apple or pear
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground nutmeg
• For Blueberry Muffins
• Fold 3/4 cup fresh blueberries into batter
• For Date Nut Muffins
• Fold into batter 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped dates
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• For Oat Muffins
• Replace 1/2 cup of flour with 1/2 cup of instant/quick cooking oats
• For Nut Muffins
• Add to dry ingredients 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts or macadamia nuts

Method of Preparation