The Tightwad Gazette Muffin Recipe

Good morning! I hope you all are doing well today and staying safe and healthy. 

Today I decided to make Amy D's muffins for several reasons. 

1. We are low on butter with only two sticks left. 
2. We have vegetable oil, which her recipe uses. 
3. Allows me to use up ingredients that need using. 

Using vegetable oil allows me to save money and ration the butter we have left. We have a stockpile of vegetable oil due to a great deal we found in the fall. 

And I was able to tweak the recipe and use up some packages of grape jelly that were given to us. The jelly came from Hardee's and I used half a pack in each muffin and then covered them with more batter. 

I also had some dried cranberries I put in there and sprinkled the tops with some roasted cinnamon sugar that I mixed up this morning. 

The Tightwad Gazette Muffin Recipe

Here is a photo of them out of the oven:

This recipe makes twelve muffins, and is easy to double, which saves time and energy. You simply combine the dry ingredients together and then mix in the wet ingredients just until combined. Either spray or line your muffin tin and fill cups two-thirds full. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (give or take five minutes).

Basic recipe:

2 to 2 1/2 cups grain
1 cup milk
up to 1/4 cup fat
1 egg
up to 1/2 cup sweetener
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
up to 1 1/2 cups additions

Following ingredients are required:

Grain: Use 2- 2 1/2 cups white flour. Or substitute oatmeal, cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, rye flour or flake cereal for 1 cup of the white flour. Or substitute one cup leftover cooked oatmeal, cornmeal, rice for 1/2 cup of the white flour, and decrease liquid to 1/2 cup.

Sweetener: Use between 2 Tbsp and 1/2 cup sugar. Or subs up to 3/4 cup brown sugar. Or subs up to 1/2 cup honey or molasses, and decrease milk to 1/2 cup.

Baking Powder: Use 2 teaspoons. If using whole or cooked grains or more than one cup of additions, increase to 3 teaspoons. If using butter or sour milk, decrease to 1 tsp and add 1/2 tsp baking soda.

Salt: Use 1/2 tsp, or omit if you have a salt-restricted diet.

Milk: Use one cup. Or substitute buttermilk or sour milk (add Tbsp vinegar to 1 cup milk). Or substitute fruit juice for some or all of the milk.

Fat: Use 1/4 cup vegetable oil or 4 Tbsp melted margarine or butter. Or substitute crunchy or regular peanut butter for part or all of the fat. The fat can be reduced or omitted with fair results if using a “wet addition”.

Egg: Use 1 egg. Or substitute 1 heaping Tbsp of soy flour & 1 Tbsp of water. If using a cooked grain, separate the egg, add the yolk to the batter, beat the white until stiff and fold into the batter.

Optional Ingredients:

Additions can be used in any combination, up to 1 1/2 cups total. If using more than 1 cup of wet additions, decrease the milk to 1/2 cup.

Dry additions: Nuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, coconut, and so on.

Moist additions: Blueberries, chopped apple, freshly shredded zucchini, shredded carrot, etc.,

Wet additions: Pumpkin puree, applesauce, mashed & cooked sweet potato, mashed banana, mashed & cooked carrot, etc., If using 1/2 cup drained, canned fruit or thawed shredded zucchini, substitute the syrup or zucchini liquid for all or part of the milk.

Spices: Use spices that complement the additions, such as 1 tsp cinnamon with 1/4 tsp nutmeg or cloves. Try 2 tsp grated orange or lemon peel.

Jellies and jam: Fill cups half full w/ plain batter. Add 1 tsp jam/ jelly, top with 2 more tsp batter.

Topping: Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the batter in the tins.

Non-sweet combinations: Use only 2 Tbsp sugar and no fruit. Add combinations of the following: 1/2 cup shredded cheese, 3 strips fried and crumbled bacon, 2 Tbsp grated onion, 1/2 cup shredded zucchini, 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese. Spices could contain a tsp of parsley and a pinch of marjoram.

These made for a hearty breakfast or snack, and can be frozen and they cost less than cold cereal, which is a win-win situation.

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

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