Oatmeal Muffins

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Rest Time: 20+ minutes
Cook Time: 18-22 minutes
Cool Time: 10 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source:  America's Test Kitchen TV (Season 14)
Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (January 2013)

I have made this recipe two times and I have not had the perfect expected results either time.

The batter is very loose and you need to let it rest so the oatmeal gets hydrated. The first time I made it I found that the topping ended up falling into the batter, so I didn't get the nice crisp topping I wanted.

This second time I watched the video again (it is still there as of today) and I noticed that Dan said the reason the batter is so runny is because the oatmeal flour (that you make yourself with a food processor) is not as fine as regular flour. So you need to rest the batter to make it thicker. That prompted me to process the oats for a longer time to make sure they were as fine as could be. I think that really helped. Even before resting, the batter was much thicker than last time.

After the 20 minute rest, the batter was even thicker. However, when I was filling the cups, by the end, the bottom of the batter seemed runnier. I think I should have given it a good stir before filling the cups. Also, I think I should have let it rest another 10 minutes or so. I still had some sinking crumb topping.

This time was not as bad as the first time, however, the tops ended up running into each other. They also started to burn a bit before he insides of the muffins were fully cooked.

The end result is quite delicious, but the process was a bit frustrating. Also, I like to make muffins for a quick breakfast/snack, but these really are little cakes with quite a bit of sugar and fat. Of course, that is why they taste so good.

Last time the frozen muffins were not as great as right out of the oven. They got just a bit gummy. I'm not sure if that will be the case this time or not.

So in the end, I'm a bit conflicted about these muffins. They are not a simple quick bread recipe, so not sure it is worth the trouble to make these when I can't get them to turn out like they should. They would be great for a brunch to share with others, but since they end up a bit ugly, it might not be my first choice.

Morning Glory Muffins

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (April 2011)
Recipe Source: Cook's Country TV (same link)

I was starting to write my review in my head while I was baking these, assuming they would get a grade lower than an A. The prep on these muffins takes quite a while. Grating carrots, peeling grating an apple, squeezing liquid from the apple and pineapple, toasting the walnuts and coconut, then processing in food processor! That is a lot for a muffin. And because I always try to multi-task I burned some of the coconut when toasting. I tried taking the burned pieces out and toasted a bit more. There was a burned coffee smell in my kitchen and I was sure these wouldn't taste good.

But I was really happy when I tasted one. The texture was perfect. One of the best I've ever made. These are not super sweet, so really a good muffin for breakfast. I have never tried to make these muffins before because all recipes I saw had walnuts and raisins which I don't like. But since these walnuts are ground up, I thought it would be ok, and it was. I think they added nice flavor to the muffin.

These are definitely some work, but I think they are worth it to have in the freezer for a quick breakfast that is a little less sweet than most muffins, but still very tasty.

The only change I made to the recipe was to replace 1 cup of the all-purpose flour with 1 cup of white wheat. I still used 1 1/4 of regular flour. It worked well.

This recipe is currently available for free on Cook's Country website since it was feature during the current season of Cook's Country TV, so grab it now if you are interested.

Sour Cream Muffins

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 23-26 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

This is not my favorite blueberry or muffin recipe, but it does use white whole wheat flour and tastes pretty good. The reason I will make these again is that it uses up 1 c. of sour cream. I have a tendency to throw away sour cream because I don't use it enough. This is a good recipe to use it up. Also, the batter can be made up to 4 days in advance, so if you want to have fresh muffins in the morning, this is a good one to use.

Blueberry-Orange Cornmeal Muffins

Prep Time: 13 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes
  
Recipe Source: Everyday Food  (Video with recipe)

I tried a "healthy" blueberry muffin recipe from Everyday Food a month or two ago and was underwhelmed. But this seemed quite different, so I tried it and really liked them. I used lemon instead of orange because I didn't have an orange. Not surprisingly, that worked fine.

The mixture is quite thick, but I was warned in the video (from link) that this would be the case, so I didn't worry. I did skip adding the flour to the blueberries for that reason though.

These have a nice little glaze on top and a slightly crunchy texture. These are not the "best" blueberry muffin, but good if you want something different and like cornmeal.

Cream Cheese Carrot Muffins

Prep Time: 23 minutes
Cook Time:20  minutes

Grade: A-
Make Again: Maybe
Recipe Source: King Arthur Flour

These are nice muffins with a cream cheese filling. They are not too sweet, and the filling is very good. I guess I skimped on the filling, because I ended up using only 1/2 - 2/3 and had a lot left over. Also, I probably should have put less batter on the bottom of the pans.

Despite having to grate carrots (it's only 2), and put the batter in the pans in the 3 steps, these are fairly easy to make. I may make again if I have carrots on cream cheese on hand and need to use them up.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Bake Time: 22-25 minutes
Cool Time: 20 minutes plus more out of pan

Grade: A-

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (June 2007)

I just made blueberry muffins recently, but I'm still trying to use up frozen blueberries that I have from last summer.  I never even bought any this year.

If I were grading on taste alone, these would get an A+.  They are delicious.  However, there was way too much streusel and  I ended up using only about 2/3 of because I knew it was going to fall off the muffins and be wasted anyway.  I love streusel, but hate the mess when it falls off.  And also it just adds calories that aren't necessarily appreciated.  I think enough to cover in one layer is enough to give the textures and flavor, but more isn't worth it.

Here is only part of the mess.  There is more on the counter and floor. It just seems like a waste to me when it all falls off.

I have another recipe for a coffee cake with blueberries that I will stick to because it ends up being less messy, and probably easier to make, even though this one was very, very good.

Best Blueberry Muffin

Prep Time: 32 minutes
Bake Time: 16-18 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2009)
Recipe: America's Test Kitchen TV Show  (Season 10)

I have to say once more that I really like the ATK TV show website. (It's free but you must register first.)  It is really nice to go watch the video before I start the recipe.  The videos are usually around 8-10 minutes, and well worth the time since it will answer many questions you might have while following the recipe.  Not that CI's recipes aren't complete - they are. But they can be long with small print, and I sometimes miss things!

Anyway, the video helped me know how the sugar and eggs should look, how the jam should look, and how to really get the jam into the muffin.

Yes, these take a little longer than many muffin recipes, because you have to make a little blueberry jam, and then swirl it in.  However, I feel that these are worth the effort.  I love the lemon sugar topping.

I do think they could handle a few more blueberries in the regular batter.  Not a lot more, but maybe 1/4 c. more total.

I froze these and took some out for a road trip last week.  The crunchy sugary topping (made from sugar and lemon zest) wasn't all sparkly like it was when they were fresh, but it was still crunchy and very good.  

Gingered Oatmeal Muffins

Prep Time: 18 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: Probably not

Recipe Source:Whole Grain Baking

Wow, it's been a very long time! My life has been turned upside-down this past year, and it left me with less time for cooking, and I've been sticking to my old standby favorite recipes, so there wasn't anything to try. I finally got the desire to bake again recently, so tried these muffins.

They taste very good, but they are very squat, which I don't like. The batter was very soupy. Also, they take a little longer because of chopping the crystallized ginger and making some oat flour (just by using my food processor.) For these reasons, I probably won't make again, but I do like how they taste. There are just too many good muffin recipes, so I stick to my absolute favorites when I reuse a recipe.

Milk and Honey Corn Muffins

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Bake Time: 12-23 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

My bake times have a wide range, because I made these muffins in a muffin-top pan, and they baked very quickly.

I almost didn't make these, because I don't often like corn muffins, unless filled with lots of fat. But the "milk and honey" drew me in, and I'm glad I tried them. These are very, very good, with a little sweetness, but not too much. And you would never know they were made with whole wheat. I will definitely use this recipe again to go with soups.

Whole Grain Banana Muffins

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 23-25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

The prep time included 10 minutes of resting time before baking. This recipe is different than most muffin recipes I've tried because it calls for using the mixer and creaming the butter and sugar. But not much harder. This are richer than the other banana muffins I've made before - but not too rich. It looked like the bananas caramelized, but maybe that was the honey. I've never had that happen before, so I'm not sure.

Peanut Butter Muffins

Prep Time: 18 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

I had high hopes for this recipe, but it wasn't quite as great as I thought it would be. I could tell that the muffins were made with whole wheat, I think. However, the frozen muffins tasted better to me, so maybe I like them more than I first thought. They were not as sweet as I thought they might be. I did not add the optional chocolate chips and that might have helped!

Better Bran Muffins

Prep Time: 19 minutes
Cook Time: 16-20 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2007)

I liked these, but I think I might like the Bran Muffin from the Best Light Recipe better. (However, these have less calories - 237 without the raisins.) CI also has a previous regular recipe and both of their earlier recipes use Wheat bran instead of All-Bran cereal, which is where this recipe gets its bran. I will have to try the other ones again and compare. These are good for breakfast and not quite as sweet as other muffins so I like to have these on hand.

These take a little longer to make than most muffins because you have to grind the cereal in the food processor, and then you let the wet mixture sit with the cereal in it for 5 minutes.

Gingerbread Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 18-22 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (Dec 2006)

Yes, I've been baking a lot lately. My freezer is getting full. But there will be a time coming up where I won't have time to bake as much and it will be good to have my stash then. I especially like to have muffins for a quick breakfast I can take to work or a snack before a workout.

I don't usually like gingerbread, even though I love ginger and spicy cookies. It is just my non-love of cake, I guess. But I do like muffins, so I tried these. And they were very good, moist and flavorful with all the spices. I like that they are made with dark brown sugar and you don't need to get out the molasses. These are not light, 1 1/2 c. of brown sugar and a full stick of butter for 12 muffins. I'm sure that is part of the reason why they are so good!

Savory Cheese Muffins

Prep Time: 16 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (May 2005)

These are pretty good. I used gorgonzola cheese for the blue cheese, because it is one that I like that doesn't seem too strong to me. I forgot the scallions, but they were still pretty good. I don't know that I would go out and buy the cheese to make these again, but I might try with other cheese on hand. This recipe is similar to the Quick Cheese Bread recipe from CI.

I froze the leftovers and I am really enjoying them reheated in the microwave. They are definitely best warm, when the cheese is a little gooey.

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Muffins A to Z

This recipe called for 1 c. vegetable oil, which seemed like it might be a misprint. Most of the other muffin recipes call from 1/3 to 1/2 c. of fat, so I only used a 1/2 cup. The batter was very liquidy that way, so maybe it really was a misprint. These are really delicious muffins - cinnamon and apple flavors with a touch of maple syrup.

I would definitely make these again, but next time I need to make sure I use paper cups, because I had a hard time getting these out of the pan.

Almond Crumb Cake Muffins

Prep Time: 17 minutes
Cook Time: 22-25 minutes

Grade: B-

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Muffins A to Z

These muffins were good, but just not my favorite, because the base of them, was rather plain and more cake-like than muffin like for me. I did like the topping though, and I had forgotten about the idea of using melted butter for the crumb. It allows you to use less butter and makes the topping easier to put on top of the muffins. I first saw that idea in the Best Light Recipe (from Cook's Illustrated) and I should use it more often.

Coffee Cake Muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated Christmas Baking

These are good, but I think I should give up the idea of making a coffee cake muffin and just make a regular coffee cake, which is easier to me. I hate putting that struedel on the top, it gets so messy. These ended up looking pale and not that pretty, so I probably would not make again.

Zucchini-Romano Muffins

Prep Time: 11 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Muffins A to Z

This is not my favorite muffin recipe. I think it should use more zucchini. However, warm and slathered with some butter (which I normally skip) these taste good. The reason I made them was because I had some milk, pecorino cheese and a zucchini that needed to be used up and this recipe was perfect for that.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (January 1997)

This recipe creams the butter and sugar in one version (magazine) and melts the butter and does a quicker mixing method in the other. I used the creaming method, but next time will just melt the butter because it is quicker and easier.

Lemon-Drizzled Lemon Muffins

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Muffins A to Z

These are really nice muffins (a little bit cake like), but the recipe makes very small muffins. I usually get 9 more reasonably sized muffins from this. I should probably double the recipe next time, if I have enough lemons for zest.