4 tips making quick Recipes

muffin pans, a special metal baking pan , sometimes referred to as a muffin tin, with 6 or 12 cup-shaped depressions. most often this pan is made from aluminum., muffin cups are, standard muffin cup is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter., giant or texas-size muffin cup is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 5/8 cup batter., muffin cup is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and holds 1/8 cup or 2 tbsp batter., muffin-top cup is about 4 inches in diameter but are only 1/2 inch deep ., substituting a different size muffin cup, substitute another size muffin cup for original size listed in recipe. if substituting a larger size muffin cup the recipe will yield fewer muffins and if using smaller size muffin cup the recipe will yield more muffins. the bake time will be changed also. bake a larger muffin longer than the original time and smaller muffins a shorter time., tips on baking muffins, grease muffin cups by spraying each cup with no stick cooking spray or using a paper towel dipped in shortening to grease each cup., use paper liners in muffin cups for easy clean-up., if muffin cups are filled more than 3/4 full the muffins will have flat, flying saucer tops. if sufficient room is not allowed for muffins to expand before reaching the top of the cup the muffin will flatten on top., if some muffin cups will remain empty during baking , put 2 to 3 tbsp water in the unused muffin cups to keep the pan from warping., if baked muffins stick to the bottom of the muffin cup, place hot muffin pan on a wet towel for about two minutes., source : land o lakes, all about muffins, are you eating muffins or cupcakes, hot breads are always a hit and muffins are 1 of the easiest to make. they are more quickly and easily made than biscuits and no kneading, rolling or cutting is required. they can be a savory, last minute dinner muffin or a sweet delicious breakfast muffin. made using whole-wheat flour, wheat germ, bran, honey, fruits and nuts they can be very nutritious. but like the healthy granola craze which turned into candy bars, muffins also can quickly turn into cupcakes. eating cupcakes for breakfast is your choice, but don tsp tell yourself you are eating healthy breakfast muffins. a recent magazine article revealed some muffins available in new york delicatessens were claimed to be low fat, but actually contained up to 23 g of fat. that s more fat than two egg mcmuffins., what is the difference between muffins and cupcakes, some say cupcakes have frosting. a basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tbsp sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, shortening or butter, 1 cup milk. when the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level., other technical difference between muffins and cupcakes, method of cooking is different for muffins and cupcakes. the muffin method is by far the fastest and easiest. flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (all the dry ingredients) are mixed together. this is where the leavening can be uniformly dispersed into the flour. sugar is mixed with the flour to prevent the flour from lumping when combined with the wet ingredients., making and baking muffins, in a large bowl, oil (or melted butter) and egg are beaten together to form an emulsion to disperse the fat more uniformly. then the milk is stirred in. this much mixing can be done ahead and held. the two are combined just before baking., combine, cut and fold liquid into the dry ingredients. mix only to combine. batter will be lumpy but no pockets of dry ingredients should remain. the general rule is only 12 strokes., bake as soon as it s mixed. when filling cups, do not mix batter between scoops. excessive mixing causes loss of leavening., cake method for making muffins, sometimes muffins are made using the cake method , i.e. cream the fat and sugar, add eggs, add the dry ingredients and milk alternately. this is more time consuming but produces a lighter, more tender, cake-like muffin., perfect muffin, perfect muffin has a thin brown crust , a slightly rounded top with a pebbled appearance and a moist, even interior. there should be no peaks, no tunnels which are usually caused by excessive mixing and too much liquid (muffin batter should not be fluid)., more leavening is not better, just because a recipe is in print does not mean that it is in balance. a guide for leavening 2 cups of flour in a recipe is either 2 1/2 tsp double acting baking powder, or 4 tsp fast acting baking powder, or 1/2 tsp soda plus 1 cup buttermilk (for the acid) and 1 1/4 tsp baking powder. excess baking powder and soda taste bitter., here are a few tips for altering muffin recipes, substitute 2 egg whites for 1 egg in the recipe. if these are stiffly beaten and folded in at the end it will produce a lighter muffin with less fat., use non-fat milk instead of whole milk ., use salad oil in place of butter. in place of the fat in the recipe , use 1-fourth of the oil and replace the other three-fourths with fruit puree such as applesauce. jars of baby food fruits provide a quick choice of purees other than apple. adding non-gluten grain products (bran, germ, oatmeal, corn meal) for part of the flour makes a more tender muffin., create your own taste sensations, begin with the basic formula and change 1/2 cup of the flour to corn meal, bran, wheat germ, rye, oatmeal or leftover cooked cereal. add 1/2 to 1 cup chopped apple, dates, prunes, raisins, apricots, figs, blueberries, cranberries, cheese, nuts., make your favorite muffin mixes by measuring the dry ingredients twice (or more ) into two separate bowls. use 1 and package 1 with the list of wet ingredients to be added when mixing at a later date.

sugar cookie recipe, after trying over 50 sugar cookie recipes , i found this 1 to be my absolute favorite. i love this basic sugar cookie recipe for many reasons. it taste great. it is simple with few ingredients. it will maintain it s shape which makes the dough ideal for molding. you must chill the dough for a couple hours (or overnight is great) or it will be very sticky to work with., butter, softened, cream cheese, softened, sugar, egg, vanilla, all purpose flour, in large mixer bowl combine all cookie ingredients , except flour., beat at medium speed , scraping bowl often until creamy., reduce speed to low ; add flour. beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed., divide dough into 2 equal portions; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate unitl firm (at least 2 hours)., heat oven to 350o. roll out on lightly floured surface or parchment paper. bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. remove from cookie sheets; cool completely., url : cookiedecorating.com, chocolate cut-out recipe, yummy! crisp chocolate cut-outs with a brownie-cookie type flavor. this dough should be chilled for an hour or two (or overnight) or it may be sticky to roll., butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, in large mixer bowl beat butter , sugar, egg and vanilla until well blended. in medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture and blend well., refrigerate dough about 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., preheat oven to 325o. on lightly floured surface or parchment paper, roll out dough. bake 5 to 7 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched., cookie sheets ; cool completely., url : cookiedecorating.com, run sugar, run sugar icing is the classic cookie icing. it is a smooth textured icing that forms a very hard crust. it is made by taking royal icing at it s fluffiest form and adding water to make it flow. when it dries, you can stack the cookies. this type of icing takes several hours to dry. the icing has a simple, flavor with some crunch., powdered sugar, meringue powder, gum arabic, cream of tarter, water, water, first , mix-up royal icing (use this recipe or follow instructions on the commercial royal icing), in small mixing bowl, combine water, meringue powder and cream of tarter., beat until stiff peaks form ., in separate bowl, combine powdered sugar and gum arabic. mix thouroughly, then add to meringue., beat on low , then medium speed until stiff peaks form. after the royal icing has been mixed, divide the mixture into several small containers and cover with wet towel. add a small amount of water to each batch until it us just barely fluid, not watery. test consistency by dropping a small amount from spoon onto waxed paper. it should smooth itself in about 10 seconds. if it runs too much, add more powdered sugar. if it is too thick, add a bit more water., remember : keep this icing covered when you are not using it. it dries out quickly. place the icing in a bag with a tip #3 or #4. outline the area to be covered. quickly fill in the outline. if the icing is running off the cookie, too much water was added to the royal icing. if the icing is not smooth, add a bit more water to the royal icing. when icing crusts, pipe adjoining color. for added dimension or outlining, allow icing to harden (several minutes) and pipe on the top., royal icing, is probably the most popular icing that cookie decorators use. it is preferable because it holds up very well if the cookies need to be stacked, shipped, stored, etc.. royal icing can be made into a very nice glaze and also works great for very fine detail work. the biggest problem with royal icing is that it dries hard as a rock, and also tends to dry out the cookies more than a buttercream icing would. the drying rock-hard isn tsp a big deal if you are doing a cookie that has a thin layer of glaze and some basic outlines or decorations, but if you need a cookie to have thick piping, the thick decorations would almost be impossible to eat in royal icing., meringue powder, powdered sugar, water, vanilla extract (use clear vanilla if you want a pure white icing), almond extract, beat all ingredients together until stiff peaks form (about 10 minutes). to vary the consistency, add water to thin and add powdered sugar to thicken.

bake quick breads on the center oven rack for best heat circulation., quick breads from the pan after about 10 minutes cooling for easier pan removal., cool quick breads completely before slicing. use a sharp thin-bladed knife and a light sawing motion to cut cleanly through the loaf., after cooling , wrap loaves tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months., muffin batter should be lumpy after stirring the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. stir just until moistened for muffins that are tender and nicely rounded., use a spring-handled #20 or #24 ice cream scoop to fill muffins cups or a melon ball-size scoop for mini-muffins., fill empty , greased muffin cups with water to prevent burning the grease during baking.