For the past 3 weeks or so I have been on this mini muffin kick. Thanks in part to a breakfast parkdate with my moms group and little Taylor bugging me to get her mini muffins for breakfast. So I have made about 4 batches of mini blueberry muffins using the complete muffin mix by Betty Crocker. It's great...just add water, scoop and bake. Voila, yummy muffins that the family gobbles up. So to fulfill my quest for saving money and eating healthier, I was convinced that there had to be a book filled with various yummy (AND EASY) muffin recipes. So far, I think I found it. It's called Muffins Galore by Catherine Atkinson. Of course today, I read the online reviews and the book didn't get a good rating. The only person who rated it found a typo...yes it's still there and mentioned how the author didn't give the correct conversion for substituting All Purpose Flour for Self-Rising Flour. Oh well...I only had A.P.F. and so that's what I used. I know...I could try the Self-Rising Flour as a bag of it is only $4 or so at Super Wal-Mart. Next time! Read on...
Today I went grocery shopping and purchased all the supplies needed to make Blueberry muffins and Vanilla Chocolate Chip muffins. However, both of those recipes call for self-rising flour. I decided to use All Purpose Flour instead. My first batch was the Vanilla Chocolate Chip muffins. They looked great however they (slightly crunchy on the outside) seemed to be a bit dry. Of course me being the OCD cook, I had to do another batch! This time the batter was much more moist than the first one. I used a little bit more sugar and vanilla extract. The second batch is definitely more moist, it still has the nice firm outside and soft inside. They aren't as dry tasting. I'm glad with both batches I used the regular sized chocolate chips instead of the minis...chocolate goodness in every bite! OK yes I know the muffins are lopsided! 
The blueberry muffins, I made regular sized and used the new silicon muffin cups I got at Target (6 for $1). They turned out very moist and just about every bite has some blueberry in it. I had to use frozen blueberries since fresh ones are really expensive right now. Not too bad. I actually think I would have liked to have these ones baked a little bit longer. I like the crunchy outside and soft inside. Or next time, I'll add coarse sugar on the top for a crunchy coating. Although I'm thinking that baking them directly in the pan without the silicon cup liners might yield the results I'm looking for. :-) And yes, for those of you who think I need to have more symmetrical looking muffins, I'll use a cookie dough or ice cream scooper for nice rounded muffin tops. Hahahah, I'm not selling these though and the "home-made" look is "in" isn't it???
The real test as we all know is when the kiddos and husband get home. IF they eat them and ask for more, then they are winners. If not...back to the baking board! I think the next set of muffins I'm going to attempt are the Cranberry and Pecan muffins or the Cinnamon Swirl muffins. Both sound like they'd be great for breakfast foods and that's my ultimate goal, to create healthy yet quick on the go foods the kids can eat in the car on the way to school. I think I'm subconsciously becoming more "home-makerish". I know, I could do breakfast sandwiches or breakfast burritos or pigs in a blanket (pancake wrapped sausage) but that would require me OR Tony to get up about 45 minutes earlier than we already do. Sorry kids, we love you, but we also need our sleep too! Besides, the kids are soooo picky about what they eat, they may not even eat those items we cook.
The blueberry muffins, I made regular sized and used the new silicon muffin cups I got at Target (6 for $1). They turned out very moist and just about every bite has some blueberry in it. I had to use frozen blueberries since fresh ones are really expensive right now. Not too bad. I actually think I would have liked to have these ones baked a little bit longer. I like the crunchy outside and soft inside. Or next time, I'll add coarse sugar on the top for a crunchy coating. Although I'm thinking that baking them directly in the pan without the silicon cup liners might yield the results I'm looking for. :-) And yes, for those of you who think I need to have more symmetrical looking muffins, I'll use a cookie dough or ice cream scooper for nice rounded muffin tops. Hahahah, I'm not selling these though and the "home-made" look is "in" isn't it???The real test as we all know is when the kiddos and husband get home. IF they eat them and ask for more, then they are winners. If not...back to the baking board! I think the next set of muffins I'm going to attempt are the Cranberry and Pecan muffins or the Cinnamon Swirl muffins. Both sound like they'd be great for breakfast foods and that's my ultimate goal, to create healthy yet quick on the go foods the kids can eat in the car on the way to school. I think I'm subconsciously becoming more "home-makerish". I know, I could do breakfast sandwiches or breakfast burritos or pigs in a blanket (pancake wrapped sausage) but that would require me OR Tony to get up about 45 minutes earlier than we already do. Sorry kids, we love you, but we also need our sleep too! Besides, the kids are soooo picky about what they eat, they may not even eat those items we cook.
Right now they are all on a Pop Tart kick...of course a few weekends ago Tony had to get the football team frosted brown sugar and cinnamon ones. I had a whole bunch of Frosted Strawberry ones in the pantry that still needed to be eaten up but Anthony got the University of Arizona one so I can't complain about it too much. I guess it's a great change for them from the Quaker Chewy Granola Bars they had been eating in the mornings. Although, I do still have 2 BIG boxes of cereal they need to eat up too. I guess that'll go to school with them for their morning snack at recess time. BUT...that's the other point for me making homemade muffins, something different for them to eat besides their usual snack food. I suppose if I continue making homemade baked goods, we'll either become as big as a house or stop eating all that expensive convenience food! I'm really hoping for the latter.
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