How to Make the Best Muffins Ever

“A bad muffin is as memorable as a good muffin is unforgettable.” Br. Peter Reinhart

The true sign of a good muffin is that it elicits a reaction.

It can be a sigh, a pause, or maybe a closer inspection followed by a question or comment–usually made with a full mouth. Every time I serve these Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Muffins, still warm from the oven, I watch out of the corner of my eye for the reaction.

No matter how chatty a group of girlfriends get over their coffees, one bite into these muffins and the conversation slows to a crawl; for the moment, attention is diverted from boy talk and baby names to a perfectly moist, flavorful muffin.

Occasionally, I’ll get a “I usually hate muffins, but…”

And oh, I have been there. I don’t think I ate a decent muffin for the first twenty years of my life, and I had resigned myself to a reality where muffins were dry, tasteless (or overly sweet), and no match for a good scone or sticky bun.

The summer I was twenty, I worked a job in a kitchen where muffin-making was mandatory, and I faced a challenge: the dry muffin. Many hockey pucks, exploding volcanoes, and moon craters later, I had a few recipes worked out that actually brightened up my mornings.

Here are a few things I learned along the way…

10 Tips to Making the Best Muffins Ever

  1. Start with ingredients at room temperature, eggs, milk, etc.
  2. Take care not to over mix the batter; use a flexible spatula to gently fold ingredients together.
  3. Batter should be stiff enough to hold a spoon upright; if it seems runny, gently fold in a few extra tablespoons of flour.
  4. Use the freshest spices as possible when they are required.
  5. Grease the entire muffin tin, not just the holes. More often than not, the muffins expand over the sides, and if those sides have not been properly greased, you’re going to run into trouble when you try to remove the muffins.
  6. Fill muffin tins three-quarters full; the tops are the best part, so don’t be shy with the batter.
  7. Slide a baking sheet under the muffin tin to help prevent the bottoms from getting too dark in the oven. This also helps with cleanup in case there is overflow.
  8. Take care not to over-bake the muffins.
  9. Allow muffins to cool in the pan at least 10 minutes before removing them, especially if they contain soft fresh fruit.
  10. Enjoy them fresh. If you must, freeze them, although I prefer to freeze the batter (without add-ins), then thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake the muffins fresh in the morning.

Recipe: One-Bowl Oatmeal Muffins

Now the art of making muffins will never garner the solemn respect that bread baking and yeast-work deserves, still every one should have a solid muffin recipe in their repertoire.

The beauty of this recipe is its versatility. It is a base muffin recipe that can happily accommodate almost any add-in you like, and believe me, with the picky eaters around my table, I’ve tried quite a few variations.

One-Bowl Oatmeal Muffins: Flavor Combinations

  • 1 cup Raspberries, fresh or frozen & ½ cup Dark Chocolate, chunked or chips
  • ¾ cup Diced Apple (Granny Smith or Russet) and ½ cup toasted Walnuts, roughly chopped
  • ¾ cup Dried Cranberries & ½ cup toasted Pecans, roughly chopped
  • ¾ cup White Chocolate, chopped or chips & 1 cup Blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • ½ cup toasted unsweetened Coconut & ¾ cup Peanut-Butter Chips
  • 1 cup diced Rhubarb, fresh or frozen & ½ teaspoon Green Cardamom, freshly ground
  • ¾ cup Dates, pitted and chopped & ½ cup Pistachios
  • ¾ cup Golden Raisins & ¾ cup grated Carrot

One-Bowl Oatmeal Muffins: Basic Recipe

Oatmeal is one of the constants in the recipe and provides, in my opinion, necessary texture.

Be sure to read the recipe all the way through before getting started. You will note that the oats soak in the milk 1 hour prior to assembling the rest of the ingredients, so take that into consideration before starting out.

Makes 12 medium muffins

  • 1 cup milk*
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, freshly ground
  • add-ins of your choosing (see above suggestions)

Combine milk, vinegar and oats in a large bowl and let stand one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a twelve-cup muffin tin and line with cupcake papers.

Crack the egg into the oat and milk mixture; add brown sugar and mix to combine. Stir in melted butter.

Sift remaining ingredients into the bowl: flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, & spices. Gently fold into batter, taking care not to over mix.

Sprinkle add-in and flavorings of your choice and combine muffin batter gently.

Use a large ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop batter into muffin tins. Bake until light brown and tops spring back when gently touched, about 10-12 minutes. Note: Muffins will take slightly longer to bake if you are adding fresh fruit such as blueberries or rhubarb.

Remove from oven and cool in tins. To remove, run a sharp knife around the edges and pop muffins out. Enjoy!

*You may also substitute 1 cup buttermilk, and then omit the vinegar from the recipe.

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307 Comments

  1. Sounds like a great recipe! All that I would say is that from years of 4-H cooking I have learned one thing about muffins. All muffins will have a fryline if you grease the sides of the muffin tin. Greasing the sides also prevents each muffin from rising the whole way because it can’t grip the pan. When baking for “pretties” rather than convenience, only grease the bottoms of the muffin tins really well.

  2. So, I’ve had these in the back of my mind ever since you posted them 2+ years ago,… and I finally made them.
    And they are the best muffins I have ever, EVER made.
    I know that’s not a surprise to you, Aimee, so thank you for posting them and sharing muffins secrets, because you’re right – its hard to find a good muffin!
    I did alter it one way – I’m extremely sensitive to processed sugar, so I replaced the 1/4 cup brown sugar with 1/8 cup honey and a 2-3 scoops of stevia. Worked beautifully; still keeping the puffy awesomeness you promised we’d find with this recipe.
    Thanks again!

  3. Very Delicious!! I “sampled” four of them while feeding pieces to my 1yr old!! 🙂 I doubled the recipe and put in the following…3/4 cup of each: raisins, grated carrot, coconut & choc chips! All of my other kids devoured these!! So…a small bag went into the freezer! I will definitely be keeping this recipe & experiment w/other add-ins! Thank You!

  4. These look amazing! Baking a couple of batches right now… Two questions: do you use salted or unsalted butter? Where in the oven do you place the rack – half, bottom third, etc.? Thanks!

  5. Hi, thanks for the recipe… the muffins turned out fabulously, I’ve added rum soaked dried cranberries and chocolate chips… YUM!

  6. mix in the oven, had some trouble getting the right consistency..
    I added much more flower than the recipe asks for
    I added some soy bean cereal, banana, coconut, pistachios, M&M’s, and almonds and coffee (yeah i am crazy like that) – the batter tasted good though
    oh yeah and two scoop of protein shake (I’m an athlete)
    couldn’t find brown sugar so had to use white sugar
    we’ll see what comes out … hahahahaha Typing what I put in there makes it sound crazy – i made two times the batter size, so would be a big waste if it’s a total flop,..

  7. My family loves these muffins. My almost 7 year old twins have been making this recipe with me since you first posted it. Just this week, one of them chose to make them for her first solo baking project. We make them with chocolate chips. I’ve been thinking of adding some peanut butter to the wet ingredients for a peanut butter chocolate chip muffin.

  8. Hi Aimee,
    The recipe looks amazing…will try it over the weekend 🙂 silly question but I was wondering if I can make this muffin recipe in a small muffin/cupcake pan to give as snack for my daughter’s snack? have you ever tried it?

    Regards,
    Naima

  9. What would be the best way to incorporate pumpkin or sweet potatoes puree into this recipe? I am not sure how to alter the wet/dry balance. I would like to try a pumpkin/cranberry/pecan or sweet potato/pistachio combo.

  10. Hi,

    Your muffin makes me salivate! Never seen so much creativity in muffins, I just hope Kenny Rogers could offer as much variety to their muffins just like you have shown here.

  11. Hi!
    I have been craving a good substitute for plain old oatmeal with dried cherries, walnuts and/or apples bits and came across this recipe. I am wondering if the recipe would change any if I used a mini-muffin pan? Also I wonder how much I would use because obviously can use 1/3rd cup!
    If you have tried this with the mini-muffin pan, would you please advise what differences you have made in the recipe?
    Thanks for sharing!

      1. Aimee — I’ve never been able to bake a regular sized muffin in just 10-12 minutes. (Usually that’s mini muffins or cookies.) Did you mean longer for the main recipe? Most of my muffins of regular size take about 20-25 minutes.
        -M

  12. These muffins are the best! I have had a lot of difficulty making muffins in the past, having them turn out too dry, too dense, too much like cake, but these… these are just perfect. Thank you for this great recipe. It is definitely going in my “make often” collection.

  13. I love your tin. I always worry when I see muffins from a shiny new tin. Patina shows it’s used a lot and the cook probably knows what they are doing. Can’t wait to try your recipes.

  14. Hello Aimée – thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe! Could you please suggest some savory muffins options? Would this basic recipe work for tuna or ham-cheese muffins? thanx again and have a great weekend.

  15. I was sure there was no way I would have the same success you talk about with this recipe, certainly not on the first try. But as I bit into the muffin (blueberry and chocolate chip), I had that pause, take a closer look, reaction. They are so light and moist and yet hearty and flavourful. Wow! and I used whole wheat flour instead of white because I was out of white. Still fantastic! Thank you for posting this recipe.

  16. These muffins are magical. I have made them four times in the last month, and I can never wait to make them again! Thank you so much for sharing, Aimée!

  17. Can you make these with almond milk? If so, would you need to make changes to any of the other ingredients? Thanks!

  18. Hello
    i would be grateful if you could give me any tips in how to get my muffins wet inside , i get the texture like if it’s a cake texture i want them to be like wet or heavy inside .. i don’t know if i explained well pls help
    thanks x

  19. Thank you for sharing your muffin recipe. This is by far the best muffins EVER!! I have tried with all the recommended combinations of ingredients and MORE and find that the best is still Blueberry & White Chocolate. I will be experimenting with tropical fruits soon.

  20. If I don’t have rolled oats – only quick oats – could I still make them by omitting the 1 hour soak? I only ask because I have everything else I need at home and it would be a shame to have to go out just for oats. Thanks!

  21. Hello, I have a very similar recipe to this, but it’s a vegan/gluten free recipe. I use 1 tsp. guar gum to bind the flours. My question is, what is the purpose of the vinegar, and why does it need to sit with the milk for an hour? My recipe calls for vinegar too, but I always assumed that it would react with the baking powder & soda. I’d like the muffins to be fluffy. Thanks.

    1. The vinegar makes sour milk, which reacts with the baking soda to create a fluffy muffin. The oats are soaked in the buttermilk to soften them. Happy Baking!

      1. Thanks! But do you know a good Vegan recipe? I’ve been adding vinegar to the recipe…but they’re not very fluffy. Does the chemical reaction work with almond milk? 🙂

        1. You can still make curdled milk or buttermilk with almond milk. I would guess that the guar gum might be affecting the texture. I hope this helps someone, although it’s been a long time since GJ posted.

  22. I have been in search for a good muffin recipe for years!! Thanks to you I have found one….I made one batch with almond milk and another with oatmeal milk..and just 1/4 cup of organic non-dairy butter….Absolutely perfect, I will never need another muffin recipe…

  23. I’ve made many muffins throughout my life. I’m 71. I made these muffins replacing flour with whole wheat flour. Added toasted coconut and fresh strawberries. they are delicious. I’m diabetic and these have very little sugar so they are Grrrreat!

  24. Aimee! Hello there! I was searching for an appropriate place to post… not just in regards to these delicious looking muffins, but also just to tell you how much I love the values, traditions and food-knowledge that you’re instilling into the next generation of your family! It’s my dream to someday own a semi-rural property with my husband, where we can bring up our children with a real experience of garden (or farm) to plate, great nutrition and plenty of grass to roll in. For now, we’re living in a shoebox inner-city apartment that’s completely devoid of a garden. I attempted to grow herbs on our 1X2 metre balcony and they shrivelled in the Australian sun 🙁 Anyway, thanks for sharing your recipes, experiences and inspiration with us. Love this blog and the beautiful writers behind it!! x

  25. Thanks so much for this recipe! I’ve always used store bough mixes and dressed them up with fresh ingredients. This past year I’ve taken to making far more things from scratch and now I can confidently serve magnificent muffins any time I wish! I added dates and a small dallop of cream cheese to the centres. They got rave reviews! Can’t wait to try more variations. Thanks again!
    Barb
    P.S. Love this site; heard about it through a mutual friend on facebook. Also a fun fact: I went to high school with your husband. Cheers to your successes and your beautiful family!

  26. I have been using your recipe for a year now, it never fails and your tips are spot on. I love the peanut butter and coconut combination the most but also do the raspberry and dark chocolate often. Kids and husband think I am an awesome muffin maker now. Thank you!

  27. I grew up on fantastic muffins of many varieties. They were my staple breakfast all through high school. My mom would make large batches on the weekend and freeze leftovers so her 4 children could have home baked goodness through the week. I still favor muffins for breakfast. Some of my current favorites use a coffee cake base with ham chunks and grated cheese or grated carrot and apple.

  28. Hi there:)
    Can’t wait to try these! But….I only have Quick oats in the house, another reader asked if we can use quick oats and just omit the step of soaking the oats in milk, unfortunately there was no reply to this question….be grateful for an answer from anyone:)

    1. This reply is very late, but I have made them three times now and have used quick cooking oats every time (because that is what I had). Works just fine, even letting them soak for an hour. I assume that the texture is a little softer, but I love them just the way I made them. Hope that helps.

  29. Hi Aimee,
    I couldn’t say long enough how much I like your Zuchinni/Chocolate bread, it’s more than delicious!!!
    My neighbor bake some and she brought me half of loaf for my husband and I. Since my husband is diabetic needless to say I ate the whole thing, and it didn’t take a long time either.
    I would have never think that those two ingredients will deliver such of unbelivable taste, but they do…
    Now I feel guilty because since my husband had a sniff of the bread, he imagine the flavor, so he has been dreaming about it.
    I asked my neighbor for the recipe and she send me the link to your wonderful page.
    Of course the recipe is there waiting for the taker, (lucky me), but I wonder, will substituting Splenda for sugar will still deliver the same flavor and what will be the right amount, seems to me that Splenda is sweeter than sugar.
    If you can answer my questions it will be great, but either way I have to try it, I have my husband reminding me how
    much he will like to try it… (not that he wants to make me feel guilty! ) 🙂
    Thank you for posting so many great recipes and thank you for all your wonderful simple bites of information.
    Espe

  30. Oh my golly gosh this muffin recipe is positively amazing! I was never a huge fan of muffins after eating way to many packet ones during primary school but exam study lead me to wanting something that i could justify eating for breakfast as I ran out the door. This muffin mixture has become my go to breakfast food and I love it so much! Thanks a million

  31. Hi Aimee!
    Just made these muffins this morning, and they were delicious! I was wondering though, what does it do when you let the oats soak prior to starting? Is it just to soften them? I’m wondering what other recipes I can use this with..
    Thanks! -Chelsea