Do You Know the Muffin Pan? (with recipes)

DO YOU KNOW THE MUFFIN PAN?

“Some of the sons of the priests prepared the confection of the spices. Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the office of trust over the things that were baked in pans” (1 Chronicles 9:30-31). I wonder if they had muffin pans …

 

THE MUFFIN PAN, THE MUFFIN PAN

This line of thought all started with a new muffin pan. Do you know the muffin pan? There are lots of kinds. Some make giant muffins; some make traditional muffins; and some make mini-muffins. Some pans make round muffins, some make rectangular muffins, and some have holiday patterns. They might be made of wrought iron, tin, or silicone. Whatever the style, muffin pans are very versatile items. They can do many things, baking and beyond!

 

If you have a kitchen, you probably have a muffin pan. Let’s take a few moments to explore this humble kitchen item.

First of all, obviously, one can make muffins in the muffin pan:

BASIC MUFFINS

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar (or stevia)

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup milk

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together

In a medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together.

Add the flour mixture a little at a time and mix well

Fill muffin cups to ¾ full

Bake for 20-25 minutes

*You can add chopped strawberries, blueberries, cranberries (make sure the fruit doesn’t add a lot of liquid), cinnamon, nuts, lemon zest and poppy seeds, chocolate chips, bacon bits, chives, whatever you like!

The following are best in your big muffin cups!

NACHO MAMA’S CORN MUFFINS

Brown ¼ lb. of ground beef or sausage and drain the grease on paper towels

Also drain the liquid from a small can of Rotel tomatoes with green chilis

In a bowl mix:

1 large egg

1 ½ cups milk

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 cups self-rising corn meal mix

Add drained meat and drained Rotel

Add shredded cheddar cheese

Add chopped green onions

Fill greased cups in muffin pan to ¾ full

Bake at 450 for at least 30 minutes (until toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean)

Remove from pan and let cool

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

2 ¼  cups of sugar (stevia)

¾ cup of vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½  cup water

1 ½ cups canned pumpkin (not prepared pumpkin pie filling)

2 ¾  cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients

Add nuts or raisins if desired

Spoon into greased muffin cups to ¾ full and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.

Turn out and cool

BANANA MUFFINS

3 ripe, peeled, mashed bananas

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar (stevia)

2 beaten eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

3 tbsp milk

½ tsp vanilla

½ cup chopped nuts (if desired)

Spoon into greased muffin cups to ¾ full

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.

EGG MINI OMELETS

 

6 beaten eggs

Splash of milk

Salt and pepper

Add as desired: shredded cheese, onion, spinach, ham, bacon bits, basil, chives, etc. and whisk

Fill greased muffin cups to ¾ full

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Turn out and eat hot

 

 

OTHER USES FOR THE MUFFIN PAN

Did you know you can flip your traditional muffin pan over and use it to hold your taco shells upright? This is an easy way to fill those crispy shells!

You can also freeze Ice “cubes” in those pans if you need a larger size than the traditional cubes, like in a punch bowl. You might even freeze a mint leaf, a raspberry, or a plastic bug inside, just for fun! Just dip the pan in hot water to pop the ice right out!

NON-FOOD PROJECTS

Sadly, sooner or later, those muffin pans begin to wear out. However, don’t throw them away. Here are some uses for your old muffin pans:

CRAYONS:

If you have a bunch of old crayon pieces, don’t throw them out! Grease those muffin cups well, then fill them with the crayon pieces! You can put similar colors together, or you can mix them up. Then put them in the oven on low heat with a baking sheet underneath, just for safety’s sake–you don’t want melted crayon to overflow into your oven! Keep an eye on them, and when the crayons are reduced to liquid, take them out and let them cool completely. Then turn them out and wash off the grease.

Those round crayons are particularly easy for little hands to hold.

SEED STARTERS:

Old muffin pans can also be used to start seeds, especially the tiny ones. Put a few tablespoons of soil in each cup. Add the seeds. Water them. Set them in the sun.

DESK CADDY:

An old muffin pan, especially the 6 cup kind, can be spray-painted and decorated  to be used as an organizer for paper clips, push pins, erasers, loose change, etc.

ART ACCESSORIES:

An old muffin pan can help to organize craft items like beads or small jewelry parts

The cups can mold small candles or scented wax, like the crayon idea above.

Those cups can also serve as a palette for paints. Put a different color paint in each one, get your brushes, and you’re ready to create!

NOW DO YOU KNOW THE MUFFIN PAN?

  

Perhaps you have a better appreciation for this humble kitchen item now. I’ll bet you can come up with some more creative uses of your own! It’s all about the fun!

God bless you, and may you find joy in the simple things.