Mellow Muffins

These moist, melt-in-your-mouth muffins are easy to make. They go with breakfast, dinner, soups, and beans. They cry out for jam or honey but are good right out of the oven with a smear of butter.

This post was updated on July 26, 2020

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About this recipe

The recipe is based on one from an old book called Uncle John’s Original Bread Book: Recipes for Breads, Biscuits, Griddle Cakes, Rolls, Crackers, Etc. that I ran across in a “health-food” store. (That’s what we called them back in the day.) I had just left home and had to figure out how to make some home-baked goodness from my own oven. Enter, mellow muffins. The recipe below calls for some whole-wheat flour (1/3 of the total flour amount) but you can just use two cups of all-purpose flour if you prefer.

Add these muffins to your repertoire! Really, just do it. I’ve been making these for decades and I have never met anyone who didn’t love them. Eat them fresh out of the oven with butter melted into them or slice them and toast them the next day. Comfort food has never been so easy.

This recipe is great for breakfast or as a healthy grain side with other meals. They’re especially good with vegetable bean soup on a chilly evening or with tofu scramble for breakfast. Try them with sliced fresh fruit on top with a little honey and a dollop of whipped cream and you have dessert.

Ingredients

If you do any baking, you probably have these ingredients on hand. If not, there’s nothing special in this list. Make a quick trip to the grocery store and you’ll have everything you need in a jiffy.

Dry ingredients

• All purpose flour
• Whole wheat flour
• Baking soda
• Salt

Wet Ingredients

• Milk,
• Melted shortening
• Honey
• One egg

How to Make Mellow Muffins

Step 1: Get things ready

• Set your oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
• Make sure all of the ingredients and supplies are on the counter within easy reach.
• Spray or oil the muffin pan or use paper muffin cup liners.

Step 2: Measure and Mix Ingredients

• Measure the flours and sift them into a large mixing bowl along with the baking powder and salt.
• Stir the dry ingredients to blend them.
• Put the milk, honey, and egg into a medium-sized bowl and lightly whisk the wet ingredients.
• Add these three wet ingredients to the dry mixture.
• Melt the shortening. About 35 seconds in the microwave should do it.
• Stir it up a bit and then stir in the melted shortening.
• Stir the batter until all of the ingredients are mixed thoroughly.

Step 3: Transfer batter to the muffin pan

• Spoon the batter into the pan.
• Fill them just below the brim to leave room for the batter to rise as it bakes.

Step 4: Bake the muffins

• Put the muffin pan in the oven and set a timer for 15 minutes.
• Check to see if they’re nice and brown on top. If not, pop them back in the oven and give them three-to-four more minutes.

Serve the muffins

As these muffins bake they fill the house with a wonderful fresh-baked smell. Be sure to have a plate ready so you can eat one (or two) right away. Here are some mellow muffins fresh out of the oven. Yum!

Expert tips for making muffins

• You’ll need measuring cups, measuring spoons, a big stirring spoon, a spatula, a large mixing bowl, medium mixing bowl, a whisk, and a muffin tin.
• The word “tin” is used frequently but it’s a holdover from earlier times. Today most muffin pans are made of aluminum, ceramic, aluminized steel, or even silicone. If you don’t have a muffin tin, they’re easy to find. I’ve seen them in the grocery store in the kitchen supply section. Go fancy or simple based on your budget.
• Muffin batter is moist, moister than biscuit batter, for example. Maybe when these muffins are gone you’ll want to try the weekend biscuit recipe and compare that batter to the muffin batter. Worst case you wind up with some delicious biscuits and more baking experience.
• If you don’t have a non-stick muffin tin, you’ll need to either spray some oil into each muffin cup or use butter or shortening to grease the muffin cups.