It isn't hard to bake perfect muffins if you follow these suggestions.
More Cooking for Kids Quick Tips
- Do not use an electric mixer to mix muffin batter.
- Don't overmix your batter. Muffin recipes call for wet and dry ingredients to be mixed separately, then added together. When you add the two together, you just want the dry ingredients to be well-moistened. It's okay if the batter is a bit lumpy. Overmixing will cause the muffins to turn out like hockey pucks.
- Use an ice cream scoop to spoon the dough into the muffin tins. It keeps your hands from getting messy and ensures uniform-size muffins.
- There is no standard size for regular muffin tins. Because of this, most muffin recipes give a range for baking time. Check your muffins at the beginning of this range. If the tops are golden brown, they're done.
- If you have empty muffin cups in your tin, fill them with water to keep the pan from buckling.
- Spray muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray, grease with butter or shortening, or use liners. To get muffins with nicely-rounded tops, use butter or shortening on the bottom and halfway up the sides of the muffin tins.
