Mmmmmmuffins.

As I venture further and further into this world of baking, I have discovered that there is no way for me to really get away from creating everyday baked goods. Usually I don't because well, first off: I will eat all of them probably within the first 10 minutes of them being out of the oven, but also because I tend to think of baking as being a rare treat rather than an everyday-type food, so when there are many in my house, I think "o my goodness when will these be here again, I must eat all of them" haha. It's not the best mindset- but I'm working on changing it! Even something as "everyday" as a muffin can be deceptively considered healthy because it has carrot, zucchini or blueberries in them. But it doesn't have to be unhealthy! And you know what, even if it isn't "the best" for you- who cares! Let's just practice a good "treat" mindset and not be like me and eat all of them. :) 

A muffin, as defined by Michael Ruhlmanns' Ratios , is under the category of a quick cake, batter bread or quick bread. Other things in this categorization include pancakes, fritters and popovers. All of these baked goods "use the same mixing method, often called the straight mixing method, and differ primarily on the flour-to-liquid ratio. A quick-bread is composed of cake better ingredients that are stirred together and leavened with baking powder. Muffins are quick breads baked in cups. Muffin batter is quite different from popover batter only in that there's twice as much flour and usually includes baking powder. Popovers get their leavening from the cooking method. They're simply custards cooked at a high temperature with some flour thrown in. Or you might think of a popover as a loose form of hot pate a choux; they have a similar leavening and interior structure. A muffin batter is essentially what holds abundant garnish together to be fried into fritters. Pancakes are really just thin muffins..." (p70-71)

I love this book. It is jam packed full of awesome information for the aspiring baker who wants to break free of recipes to create your own amazing baked things! I like it specifically because it expounds upon the ratios of all basic baked goods- aka it's more about science than the average cookbook. Baking, after all is just chemistry! Except instead of your science teacher expelling you for eating the components of your mixture, it's encouraged here :) 

Basic ratios* to get you started?

Quick Bread

 2 parts flour :2 parts liquid: 1 part egg: 1 part butter

Muffin

2 parts flour: 2 parts liquid: 1 part egg: 1 part butter

Pancake

2 parts liquid: 1 part egg: 1/2 part butter: 2 parts flour

Fritter

2 parts flour: 2 parts liquid: 1 part egg

Popover

2 parts liquid: 1 part egg: 1 part flour

*ratios are based on weight; listed in the order which ingredients are combined

...Now it's time to improvise! You can replace the flour for oats, bran, quinoa, cereal, dried fruit or any combo of these and others! You can  replace butter and sugars with applesauce, stevia, different types of sugars, fruit, etc There are endless combinations!

Apple Oat Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups rolled oats

¼ cup bran flakes (not the cereal, the actual bran flakes)

½ cup crushed flax plus cinnamon cereal 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 heaping tsp cinnamon

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

2 tbsp brown sugar, packed

1.5 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 large egg

2 large diced apples

1 tbsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Cut parchment paper into 2.5inx2.5 in squares, set aside

3. In a large bowl sift the flour. 

4. Add the bran flakes, cereal (use flax plus cinnamon or your favorite- just make sure it wont absorb a lot of water because then it might get mushy- ex. Cheerios or  might not be the best choice because they are quite airy and can get soggy)baking soda, baking powder and baking powder. Add the salt, cinnamon, grated nutmeg and brown sugar. Stir and set aside. 

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together applesauce and egg

6. Add chopped apples (do not have to be peeled, but if you want to- go for it! Also feel free to mash them up, puree them etc) 

7. Add vanilla

8. Add the liquid mixture into the larger bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix well! Make sure that there are no ‘pockets’ of flour which can be unsettling to bite into when the muffins are done.

9. Use a spoon (I used my hands :)) to get an ice-cream scoop size of batter. Place the batter on a square of parchment paper and push into the muffin cup in the pan. Don’t press the muffin mix in too much, we want to muffins to be as ‘fluffy’ as possible, and since this is a rather dense mixture, they aren’t going to rise and acquire a lot of fluffiness. [this recipe yields ~12 muffins]

10. Bake 30 minutes

11. Enjoy!!

Tip: Use fresh nutmeg! It has a much greater, robust flavor than ground nutmeg and is really cheap to buy. I usually get it from bulk barn for super duper cheap. Also, it helps me study for pathology because I know what a "nutmeg" liver (aka liver congestion) looks like! :)