Basic Muffin Recipe

Unlock the potential of countless muffin flavors with this master muffin recipe – a single batter that adapts to your every craving. This base recipe is easy, fast, and delicious.

From the tangy zest of Cranberry Orange to the the refreshing twist of Lemon Poppyseed, your options are limitless.
These muffins are freezer friendly and perfect for any occasion.

5 from 12 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 25

Servings: muffins

Calories: 359kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

Dry Mixture

2 cups all purpose flour 240 grams (or 212 grams pastry flour)
2-½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Wet Mixture

1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
¾ cup sour cream or plain yogurt 170 grams
⅓ cup vegetable oil 66 grams
4 tablespoons melted butter 57 grams
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Extras (see notes)

Course sugar for garnish
Spices Extracts, Nuts and seeds, Fruit (dried, fresh, or frozen)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper cups and grease the papers.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a whisk to blend the ingredients together and remove lumps.
In a larger mixing bowl, combine the sugar, yogurt (or sour cream), oil, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Use a wide rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients until just combined. Don’t over mix. The batter will be thick and it should look a bit lumpy but there should not be any dry flour.
Use an ice cream scooper or a large spoon to fill the muffin cups to the top. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.
Bake the muffins for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Notes

Ideas for spices: Use up to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and up to ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and allspice.

Ideas for crunch: Add approximately 1 cup of toasted, chopped nuts such as pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, and almonds.

Ideas for seeds: Add approximately 3 tablespoons of small seeds such as poppyseeds, sesame seeds and chia seeds. Add up ½ to ¾ cup of larger seeds like sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

Suggestions for Variations:

Cranberry Orange: Add the zest of one orange and ½ teaspoon of orange oil or extract to the wet ingredients. Fold in 1-¼ cups of dried cranberries.

Chocolate Chip Muffins: Add one teaspoon cinnamon to the flour mixture. Fold 1-¼ cups of mini chocolate chips into the batter.

Double Chocolate Muffins: Whisk ⅔ cup of cocoa powder into the dry ingredients. Fold in 1-¼ cups of mini chocolate chips.

Lemon Poppyseed: Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of poppyseeds to the flour mixture. Add the zest of one lemon and ½ teaspoon of lemon oil or lemon extract to the wet mixture.

Any Berry Muffins: Add the zest of a lemon or orange to the wet mixture. Fold in 2 cups of fresh or frozen berries. Blueberries, raspberries, and huckleberries can be added whole. If the berries are much larger than that, chop them into smaller pieces.

Spiced Nuts and Seeds: Whisk 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon allspice into the flour mixture. Fold ½ cup toasted, chopped pecans and ½ cup toasted sunflower seeds into the batter.

Carrot Muffins: Add 1-½ teaspoons cinnamon to the dry mixture. Fold in 1-½ cups of shredded carrots.

Zucchini Muffins: Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and ½ teaspoon cardamom to the dry mixture. Fold in 1-½ cups of shredded zucchini. If the zucchini has a lot of liquid, drain the liquid first.

Sweet Potato: Add 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon nutmeg to the flour mixture. Replace ½ cup of the granulated sugar with brown sugar (½ cup of each). Reduce the yogurt to ½ cup and add ¾ cup of cooked, mashed sweet potato to the wet mixture.

Buttermilk muffins: Swap the yogurt our sour cream for buttermilk (Bulgarian style is my favorite). The mixture will be thinner but makes equally tender muffins. You can make homemade "buttermilk" by stirring a tablespoon of vinegar into a cup of whole milk.

Whole Wheat: Replace half or all of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour. Increase the yogurt to 1 cup. Let the batter sit for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours to hydrate prior to baking. Make sure you use double acting baking powder if you let the batter sit.

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