Professional Tips for Perfect Muffins

Do you dream of making the perfect tall, moist muffins? A professional pastry chef and bakery-owner gives you all her secrets for great muffins!

  1. Mix delicately. The biggest mistake when making muffins is over-mixing the batter. Over mixing creates gluten, which will make tough, dense muffins. I always fold my dry ingredients in by hand and mix just until the last bit of flour disappears. Be sure to add any mix-ins like blueberries before you have finished incorporating the dry ingredients!
  2. Use tulip liners. Tulip liners are those folded parchment liners you see in bakeries that look like flowers. They are beautiful but they also allow you to use more batter in a standard or jumbo muffin tin. This results in taller, bigger, bakery-style muffins. You still don’t want to overfill them or you will have flat muffins.
  3. Let the batter rest overnight but not longer! It is true that allowing the muffin batter to rest in the refrigerator overnight will produce taller muffins, but just remember that the longer it sits, the more baking soda has reacted with the acid in your batter and the less leavening power that will be left for the oven. Baking soda only reacts once so be sure there is also baking powder in your muffin recipe or you might end up with flat muffins instead.
  4. Remove the muffins and allow to cool on a wire baking rack. Cooling the muffins on a wire rack will keep them from steaming in their liners. The muffin tins trap that escaping moisture and it condenses around the base, resulting in soggy muffins.

What to Serve With Muffins

There is nothing better than a fresh blueberry crumb muffin with a little butter, but sometimes it’s nice to add a little something extra.

The Best Apple Butter in mason jarApple ButterMaple Butter swirledHomemade Maple ButterPeach Preserves in jarEasy Peach Preserves Recipe (no pectin)Cherry preserves in mason jarEasy Cherry PreservesMixed Berry Jam closeup in jarMixed Berry Jamstrawberry jam on large spoon held over jar.Easy Strawberry Jam Recipe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is oil or butter better for muffins?

Oil is better for moist muffins. I have found that melted coconut oil specifically produces the most moist muffins.

What is the secret to moist muffins?

The secret to moist muffins is using oil such as canola oil or coconut oil and buttermilk. The additional fat in buttermilk creates a moist, tender crumb. It will also provide good acidity to react with baking soda for nice tall muffins.

HOw to make muffins rise higher?

The key is to start baking them at a higher temperature (425°F for 5 minutes) and then reducing the temperature to the suggested temperature for the remaining time. In professional bakery jargon this is called receding oven temperature. Baking the muffins in tulip liners will give the muffins more support as they rise and will result in taller muffins.

Create a Muffin Basket!

Great your guests with a muffin assortment or bring a custom muffin basket as a unique housewarming gift. Chef likes to add a jar of apple butter or lemon curd for a finishing touch.

Healthy Muffin Recipes

Not every muffin need be an indulgent one! Treat yourself to one of Chef’s favorite healthy muffin recipes! Make a double batch and freeze them for easy, on-the-go breakfasts!

All Muffin Recipes