GIANT MUFFIN PROCESS

Amount: 6 giant muffins

Cooking time 40 minutes. Use a thoroughly preheated 350 degrees oven, and a well-greased giant muffin tin. This recipe can be doubled.

I learned from hard experience that these popular muffins have to be baked like small loaves, not in the blast-hot oven more usual for light tea muffins.

Muffins are really popular around here because they are so portable. I developed this "form" so I could make Egg McMuffins with a half a sliced hardboiled egg and bits of ham or bacon one time and have zesty orange cinnamon streusel treats another. Use this process, and you can choose the ingredients to make Texas Branana muffins, or chocolate chip, or savory bean and cheese lunch muffins.

Important; When using a "rule" or process, write down the recipe choices you are going to use before you start! You may get a combo that is so delicious you want to repeat it. Besides, you need to be able to remember whether or not you already added the baking soda, when you decide to add buttermilk instead of soymilk.

The basic process

You prepare a dry "floury/ dry stuff" mix, and also a liquid mix. Then you select a sweetening or savory addition and some "stir ins" for flavor. Depending on whether they are wet or dry, they get divided between the floury mix and the liquid mix-sugar or Parmesan cheese or dried fruit would go into the dry mix, honey or mashed bananas would be stirred into the liquid mix. Finally, mix the floury mix and the liquid together until they are just lumpy, and bake them gently in a well-preheated oven. These muffins can be heavy as lead if you overmix or undercook!

Floury mix

Stir together: 3/4 C dry stuff: your choice of bran, oat or cereal flakes, nuts, coconut, jelly; or cooked and cooled ground meat; cooked and cooled whole rice or other grain

2 C flour
1 T baking powder
any salt (1/2 teaspoon) or spices/seasonings you want to include

If you will be using honey, sour cream, yogurt, fruit juice or buttermilk, you must add:
1/2-1 teaspoon baking soda

Liquid

Stir together: 1 egg, slightly stirred
1/4 to 1/3 C oil
OR 1/4 C oil plus 1/4 C seed or nut butter
1 C milk
OR 1 C soy beverage
OR 1 C buttermilk or thin yogurt (pourable)
OR 1/2 C milk plus 1/2 C sour cream OR 3/4 C juice plus 1/2 C fruit sauce or puree

Sweetening/Savory

(stir in sugar or Parmesan with flour, honey with liquids).

1/2 C sugar OR 1/2 C honey
OR 1/4 C sugar plus 1/3 C honey
OR 2 T sugar plus 1/3 C Parmesan cheese

By using this recipe you have the basic muffin. Now comes the creative part. "Stir ins" are tasty additions. You "stir in" dryer additions into the flour and "stir in" the mashed or liquid stuff into the liquid. Then you mix the flour mix and the liquid mix together very briefly, leaving a moistened bu still slightly lumpy texture.

Optional stir ins:
1/2 to 3/4 C diced dried fruit
1 C shredded cheese, carrot or zucchini
OR mashed banana or cooked pumpkin or squash
OR chopped fresh fruit or chopped mushrooms
OR sweet chips (chocolate, carob, etc)
OR drained whole corn or cooked beans

Fill the greased or sprayed muffin tins no more than 2/3 full, bake in a preheated oven, and DON't peak for at least 30 minutes. Remove from the pan as soon as you can handle them when they come out of the oven, let cool somewhat before slicing or storing.

Want to add a bit of fancy before you bake? Put on a sprinkle of sesame or poppy seed or try cinnamon sugar or this traditional streusel topping for the sweet muffins

1/3 C sugar
1/3 C oat flakes or flour
1/4 C butter