Basic Muffin Recipe

By dfarber

Ingredients

• 2 cups all- purpose flour
• 2-4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg well beaten
• 2-4 tablespoons vergetable oil or cooked melted shortening
• 1 cup milk

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12, 2 1/2 inch muffin tin cups
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt
3. In a seperate bowl, combine the egg, milk and the shortening. Beat together until well blended.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the liquid ingredients in all at once. Stir quickly and lightly until the dry ingredients are just moistened. The batter should have a rough,lumpy, appearance. (under beaten batter contains dry flour in the liquid, while over-beaten batter is smooth and elastic)
5. Fill the prepared muffin tins 2/3 full. To place the batter in the pan, use a spoon and scoop against the side of the bowl, enough batter for one muffin. Push the batter off the spoon into the muffin tin with another spoon. Do not dip a second time.
6. If the batter does not fill every cup of the muffin tin, put a few teaspoons of water into the empty cups to protect the pan and to keep the rest of the muffins moist.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the muffins remain in the tin a minute or two and they will be easier to remove.
8. Serve the muffins in a linen-lined basket immediately. Makes about 12 muffins. To reheat leftover muffins, wrap them loosely in foil and place in a preheated 450 degrees over for 5 minutes.


VARIATIONS

Apple - Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the dry ingredients and add 1 cup finely chopped apple to the liquid ingredients

Blueberry - Add 1 cup blueberries. Increase both the sugar and shortening by 1 tablespoon each.

Buttermilk - Substitute 1 cup buttermilk for 1 cup milk.

Cheese - Add 1 cup grated cheese to the dry ingredients and increase the milk by 2 tablespoons.

Date-Nut - Add 1/2 cup chopped dates and 1/2 cup chopped nuts to the dry ingredients and increase the milk by 1 tablespoon.

Orange - Substitute 1/2 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup milk for the 1 cup of milk (or more orange juice if you like), and add 1 tablespoon of grated orange peel or 1/2 cup candied orange peel to the dry ingredients.

Pineapple - Add 1 cup very well drained crushed pineapple to the liquid ingredients.

Sour Cream - Use 1 cup sour cream in place of 1 cup of milk.

Spice - Add 1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, cloves, allspice and 1/2 cup currants to the dry ingredients.