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Muffins for Mom

© Donna Smith

What do moms do? The question should be what don't moms do. May 9th is Mother's Day. Show mom how much you appreciate everything she does for you by preparing her a wonderful breakfast in bed. Find a pretty tray, get out the best china, cut a flower from the garden, and prepare something wonderful for her to eat! What should you make, you ask? How about some wonderful, still hot from the oven, muffins?

Muffins are one of the most versatile quick breads you can make. What kind of muffins would mom enjoy? Maybe blueberry and cinnamon? How about banana and chocolate chips? Apples and cinnamon? Peanut butter and jelly? Almost anything can be added to a basic muffin recipe.

Here is a great recipe for a basic muffin.

Basic Muffin Recipe

2 cups flour

½ cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup milk

Prepare muffin tins by greasing or using paper baking cups. In bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (egg, vegetable oil and milk). Add wet ingredients all at once to the dry. Stir just to combine. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Variations

*Add 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon into the batter.
*Add 1 cup finely chopped or shredded apple and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
*Add 1 cup of chocolate or peanut butter chips.
*Top each muffin with about 1 teaspoon of jelly or jam before baking.
*Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract into the batter, then fold in 1 cup of vanilla baking chips.

Don't feel limited to just the variations above. Be creative! Almost anything can be added into a muffin. Almost anything. If your mom loves pickles, or tomatoes, I would save those for the hamburgers. You might think gummy bears would be yummy in a muffin, but I bet mom would think that was pretty yucky!

Tips for Baking Great Muffins

For moist muffins, you should not over mix the ingredients. Pour all of the wet ingredients into the dry at one time, and only stir until moistened. Muffin batter will be lumpy. Overmixing will result in tough muffins.

Grease the insides on the muffin tins by spraying on vegetable cooking spray or by wiping shortening on the bottom with a paper towel. Baking cups can also be used. Look at a houseware or grocery store for baking cups with all sorts of designs and themes.

The copyright of the article Muffins for Mom in Cooking with Children is owned by Mary M. Alward. Permission to republish Muffins for Mom in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.