Muffins!

by Sarah Barry Spooner

all things Farmer contributor 

What is better than a warm muffin with a pat of butter?

Almost nothing.

I unashamedly love muffins. Some people love cereal. But I am a muffin girl!

Growing up my mom made muffins of all kinds, pumpkin being my favorite. 

In college I would buy a lemon poppy seed muffin and a strong cup of coffee from the library cafe before I found a cubicle and zoned in to my nursing school books.

As a young, working married girl I made double, triple batches of muffins to freeze so I could grab a couple to warm in the microwave before my 30 minute commute to work.

Now I make a couple muffin batches a week. I love them on early mornings when I wake up before my kids. Having a quick muffin to grab keeps the kitchen quiet and helps me maximize my early morning time by not having to spend precious minutes making myself breakfast.

Both of my children love muffins. "Mu-nins" as they call them. I get a thrill pulling a warm dozen from the oven and treating them to a special afternoon snack. It makes me feel like a regular Susie Q homemaker. This simple muffin making makes home feel like home.

Over the years I've adjusted my muffin style. I use less sugar. And I prefer whole wheat white flour over all-purpose white. I like to use healthy grains like oats and nutritious ingredients like berries, apples, carrots, bananas, and nuts.

Muffins are an excellent way to get my kids to eat a vegetable.

One day I felt like I hit the jack pot when I came across THIS blog post on Simple Bites. She gives a basic muffin recipe and a list of various combinations of ingredients to put in the muffins - carrots and raisins, apples, raspberries and chocolate, coconut and peanut butter chips, etc. It's muffins 101. A tutorial on my favorite - muffins!!! I love love love the basic recipe, and I have officially adopted it as my go to. I've tried several different ingredient combinations, most recently and pictured above are grated carrot and rasin muffins. YUM.

basic muffin recipe
adapted from Simple Bites

 Makes 12 medium muffins

• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup brown sugar (sometimes I make it a heaping cup)
• ½ stick of butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat white flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• add ins - whatever you like!  (so far I've tried blueberries, apples, carrots and raisins) - all fantastic!

Mix milk, oats, and vinegar in a bowl. Allow to sit for 1 hour.

Add remaining ingredients and add-ins. Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake at 375 degrees for 12-18 minutes. Time will vary depending on what add-ins you use. *I like to top mine with extra oats before baking to make them look nice.

Note that these muffins are not super sweet, which I like. If you prefer a sweeter muffin just up the sugar a little.

I highly recommend spending one of these cooler afternoons with a batch of muffins and a cup of hot tea. Invite a friend over or simply share them with your family.