Other add-ins...

Cheddar Cheese (I use about a 1/2 cup for a recipe making 12 muffins)

Crumbled Bacon

Diced dates & orange jest

Blueberries

Dried Cranberries & Pecans

Here's my standard recipe. The oatmeal keeps the muffins moist enough you could easily make them a couple days ahead & it also gives enough structure to the batter that the add-ins don't sink.

1 Cup Rolled Oats
1 Cup Milk

1 Cup AP Flour
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Well-beaten Egg
1/4 Cup Canola Oil

Combine coats and milk, let stand 15-minutes or up to a couple hours (refrigerated if more than a few minutes).

In mixing bowl, stir to combine the flour, sugar, baking pjowder, & salt.

Combine egg, oil, oat mixture, & any add-ins.

Add the liquids all at once to dry ingredients. Stir just to moisten.

Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full & bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. Makes 12 standard-sized muffins or 6 jumbos.

A struedel topping is delicious with these muffins even without additional add-ins.

/tricia

I'm not a muffin person - I would make beignets instead, especially if they are used to donuts. The cost for beignets would be extremely low, or are beignets too Catholic?

Lars

Thanks....I'll try it ahead of time...I will also double the recipe to see how it does....have you ever done that? perhape tripled it?
Ever sub dry milk or evap. for fresh? Looking to cut corners in any way I can that doesn't compromise the finished product. I will spend for dried fruit but would like to save on other stuff! Thinking I will use sugar and cinnamon and/or cream cheese frosting ( there is cream cheese in the church freezer)....and there are also some cadramon pods...think I will make some cardamon sugar topped muffins.

Now I need another recipe...perhaps whole wheat or bran based?...One just slightly different? or will that just invite people to take 2?
Do you think it's realistic to figure 1 1/2 muffins per person?

Biegnets are wonderful....but too labor intensive for the moment. I am willing to do a lot of stuff, but standing at a hot fryer frying beignets for 120 is not in my book...
But if you would do it I would love it!
Linda C

Not much help here, but can you charge $7? For the new stove fund? Or could you appeal to Drunken Doughnut to donate a portion?

What about these? They're so good!

I'm sure you can substitute the heavy cream with something else.

Boston Creme Cupcakes

Prep Time: 12 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 12 cupcakes

1-1/4 cups cold whole milk
1 (3.4-ounce) box vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
12 pre-made cupcakes baked from a cake mix
1 cup heavy cream
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Combine milk, instant pudding mix, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Beat mixture with a hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until it thickens. Place mixture in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Spoon filling into a pastry bag fitted with a medium-size plain tip. Fill cupcakes with vanilla pudding filling by inserting tip into top of cupcake and squeezing a couple of tablespoons of filling into each cupcake.

Heat cream in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat until bubbles appear around the edges. Remove from heat, add chocolate morsels to pan, and whisk until smooth. Spoon or drizzle glaze over cupcakes, or dunk the tops into the glaze. Refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour, before serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Yes, Linda. I cook from a storage program. All I ever use is dried milk or dried buttermilk. Both work great. Add some baking soda, obviously, if you use the buttermilk.

I've never doubled the recipe. Would you need to adjust the baking powder? 2-3 Tablespoons of baking powder sounds like a lot if you tripled the recipe???

Rub together a little butter/flour/brown sugar & add cinnamon and/or cardamon...would make a great topping.

I think 1-1/2 muffins per person is plenty adequate. You'll probably have a few left over.

I think muffins rather than Dunkin is a great idea. I'd so much rather have a homemade muffin.

/tricia

I'm trying to envision a muffin assembly line!....LOL!
I now need another recipe besides the oatmeal one...
Also...I am very anti muffin papers....hate the crumby mess they make and the logistics of every one has this crumby paper to add to the trash....so we won't be using papers!
How does the oatmeal recipe hold up?
I am thinking I can grease the cups and perhaps add fine crumbs, ground nuts ( and yes I will make some without nuts....but the kitchen will have had "nut dust" so the very allergic won't be able to eat them).
Waddya think?
How about an alternate recipe? Or should I just do plain old "muffins"...flour, sugar, egg, leavening fat and milk?

Linda C

How about a streusel top muffin? That won't adjust the base batter right? or cream cheese toppings baked, or not, swirled with add ins. Ask for add in donations from the group - everyone has a smidge of something to share.

Another idea - how about a coffee mocha or latte glaze? You could make a drizzle or glaze from flavored creamers.

I thought I had a bran muffin recipe, but I can't seem to locate it right this minute. here is one from Marilyn. I haven't made these but I have liked every recipe of Marilyn's I have ever tried, so I trust this one!

Oat Bran Morning Muffins

2-1/2 cups oat bran
1-1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup canola oil (or extra-light olive oil)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup dried blueberries or cranberries
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 medium apples (Gala); peel & chopped small
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs; beaten

Preheat oven to 375 and position rack in the center of the oven. Grease or place muffin liners in 18 standard size muffins cups.

In a large bowl, combine the oat bran and the brown sugar; stir in the oil and buttermilk until evenly moistened. Add the dried fruit and chopped apples. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes, add the eggs. Combine the remaining ingredients and add to the buttermilk mixture using a large spatula or spoon just until evenly moistened, using no more than 15 to 20 strokes. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups level with the tops. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until tops are dry and springy (tooth pick test comes out clean). Let them rest in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to rack to cool. Store in an air tight container. They freeze well.

Marilyn's notes: *Recipe from Beth Hensperger, Author of the Bread Bible and The Pleasure of Whole-grain breadsÂmy minor changes are as written above.

Linda

I never use muffin papers, Linda, for the reasons you noted. Plus, I think they affect the texture of the muffin...tougher with the papers.

I rub the insides of the muffin cups with a mixture of flour/shortening & let them set-up for about 5 minutes out of the oven before I take them out of the pans. They never stick unless a blueberry sinks to the bottom & tears the bottom part of the muffin but that's rare with the oatmeal base.

I think offering a bran muffin would be good & not encourage people to take more than one. Somebody taking a bran muffin usually does so in the mistaken belief they are doing something 'heathier' lol so they'd stay away from a strudel topped apple one. Pineapple is good in bran muffins.

/tricia

Just a thought... AnnT's scone recipe... You can add just about anything.. I've made apricot with mini chocolate chips, apple cinnamon, apple walnut, pineapple coconut and even a chocolate one using coco....

Rita O'Tay

Linda, I would suggest offering something like a cookie or bars with the muffins. That way for the folks who don't want a muffin, they can have a choice. Our church does this every Sunday for the fellowship after service. Members take turns bringing in homemade muffins, quick breads and cookies/bars.

You can make a large batch of bars very economically and they're not as labor intensive as muffins.

The cookie bars will be the dessert for the lunch...I don't want to tip my hand!! LOL!

lindac, I've used this carrot cake recipe to make both mini-muffins and cakes which I've cut into 2"x2" bite size pieces. The cake would be much less labor intensive and could be made ahead of time. This freezes well too.

The Fantabulous Whole Wheat Carrot Cake
Makes 30 bite size servings in 9"x13" pan or 24 mini-muffins

2 cups white whole wheat flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup Splenda (if using sugar, cut baking soda to 1 tsp)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil (I substitute half with apple sauce)
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup unsweetened crushed canned pineapple, drained

Combine dry ingredients. Beat oil and eggs until frothy; stir in carrots and pineapple. Mix wet ingredients with dry until just mixed - do not over mix. Put into greased baking pans of your choice. (I use parchment paper for pans and Pam for muffin cups.)

Bake at 350°: 12-15 min. for mini-muffins; 25-30 min. for 8"x8" pan; 30-40 min. for 9"x13" pan.

If making muffins, cool in pans several minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire rack.

Linda, I have an after thought to your stove dilemma.

A) Has anyone approached your local appliance stores and asked if they would be willing to donate a scratch/dent model to the church...or sell one at a reduced cost since it's for a non profit?

B) Our church got a trade-in commercial stove from a restaurant supply business. It was a old model but still very serviceable and the store gave it as a donation.

Don't be afraid to ask businesses to donate. It's a tax write-off for them and it builds goodwill in the community.

Goodluck getting your new stove.

Nope...we are just now beginning the process....
And...off the subject here...I am amazed at the energy saving work that was done in the past 3 years and no one even talked about applying to the gas company for a rebate! Nor did the window company nor the person who installed the new airconditioners mention it!
I will do a little home work and see what I can find...
As for the local appliance store (s) we are in a town very depressed by the closing of it's major employer (Maytag) and appliance dealers are really hurting.
I know someone who is the manager of a country club in Dallas....perhaps he can give us some pointers.
Linda C

I make muffins at work on a fairly ad hoc basis.
Put about three-four cups of self raising flour in a big bowl. Add about a cup of sugar. Add any other dry ingredients I'm going to use (suitable spices, choc chips, nuts, chopped dried fruit, white raisins, etc. Stir well.
Slurp in about half to one cup of oil, a large (1 lb) can of canned fruit, juice and all (if the fruit pieces are big I chop them a bit first), and some milk with a little lemon juice added. Stir carefully, adding more milk if needed. Divide into muffin cups (well sprayed with canola spray) and bake.
After you've done a few batches you get a feel for what works. The muffins I make are always popular. One batch like this makes between 12 and 18 "Texas" size muffins.

Colleen, that sounds like my kind of cooking!

I love this recipe from Cooks.com. It is for a carrot cake type muffin. I don't add nuts, but suspect raisins would be an awesome addition. I also liberally sprinkle wheat germ over the shredded carrots. The only thing I would say is that the order of mixing seems off in the recipe. I mix the wet stuff first and then add the dry.
I also sprinkle Wilton's sugar crystals over the tops before baking.
Another good recipe is Annie's Cappucino muffins.
Jo

So...I now have a new folder on my desk top called "muffins"...
I have a 5 pound bag of cornmeal...not sure why...but I needed cornmeal and that brand looked best, but it's not "special".
Anyhow, other then jalapeno, cheese etc....what could I add to cornmeal muffins to make them more "breakfast coffee-ish?"
And tricia....you said streudel topping...did you mean streusel...like flour butter brown sugar and cinnamon...or is there another topping I don't know about?
Linda C

Linda, you could add little bits of bacon the the cornmeal muffins along with the cheese.

Is it possible to get donations from grocers? I know you said things aren't so good in your community, but maybe the store could donate some too ripe bananas which would be great in the muffins.

If you have a Big Lots store in your area they have a good deal on muffin pans. I figured if I used them 10 times and they warped, I'd still be ahead. But they're still hanging in there.

We don't ask for donations from the grocers...we get a 7% discount at one store and a similar discounta t another.
I have 4 muffin tis making 24....the church has at least another dozen, I'll bet I can borrow more too....but I may just go to a discount store and buy some. I think the church should have muffin tins for at least 36 don't you?

I need tos tart stock piling stuff in the freezer that I find on sale...like bananas and nuts and chocolate chips and dried fruits.

I am also thinking of passing out recipes and asking people to make and donate 2 dozen muffins. I will have to give out a recipe or else I will get a package of 8 Jiffy Mix muffins.

Linda, For the corn muffin add some grated lemon rind and raspberries or blueberries. There is a recipe on epicurious for a lemon cornmeal muffin with blueberries. I liked them better when I made them with raspberries.

-Robin

Linda, you probably already know this website, but I just love it. It's recipes from bed and breakfast inns across the country and they have lots of muffin recipes. I'm going to try to link it, but just in case, it's:

http://www.bbonline.com/recipes

Linda, maybe a drop scone would be easy, no cupcake tin needed.

Cinnamon Bun Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup Quaker® Oats (Quick or Old Fashioned, uncooked)
1/2 CUP granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter or margarine, chilled and cut into pieces
3/4 cup whole or 2% milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

GLAZE
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 teaspoons orange juice or milk, or as needed

Recipe
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
In large bowl, combine flour, oats, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, baking powder and salt; mix well. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In small bowl, combine milk, egg and vanilla; blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir with fork or rubber spatula until dry ingredients are moistened. In small bowl, combine remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar with the pecans and cinnamon; mix well. Sprinkle evenly over dough in bowl; gently stir batter to swirl in cinnamon mixture (Do not blend completely.) Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack; cool 5 minutes. In small bowl, combine powdered sugar and enough orange juice for desired consistency; mix until smooth. Drizzle over top of warm scones. Serve warm.

MAPLE-OATMEAL SCONES

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp baking soda
½ cup butter
½ cup quick-cooking rolled oats
½ cup B&R Farms Dried Apricots
2 eggs
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp milk

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cream of tartar, and baking soda. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in rolled oats and B&R Farms dried apricots. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture.

In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon milk. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Form dough into a ball (dough may be sticky.)

Transfer dough to a cookie sheet. Roll or pat with lightly floured hands into a circle, 3/4 inch thick and about 7 inches in diameter. Cut into 6 to 8 wedges (do not separate wedges). Brush scones with mixture of 1 teaspoon maple syrup and 1 teaspoon milk. Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm, with additional maple syrup, if desired. Makes 6 to 8 scones.

I did a search for savory-type muffins and found this one at recipezaar. Sounds yummy, and it had lots of favorable reviews. Submitted by Nicole Brummett.

SCRAMBLED EGG MUFFINS

1/2 lb. pork sausage
12 eggs
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped bell pepper (could sub jalapenos)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (might be too early in the morning for that...lol)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Brown sausage, stirring to crumble; drain well. Beat eggs; add onion, peppers and seasonings. Stir in sausage and cheese. Grease muffin tin; spoon 1/3 cup batter into each hole. Bake 20-25 minutes until inserted knife comes out clean.

I would definitely ask people to donate batches. Even if you don't get enough volunteers to make all you need, you'll still be way ahead on expenses, and the cost to each individual would be very minimal.

One thought... It might be good to identify each dish with those little tented cards. With such a large group, there are bound to be a good many whose diet is 'restricted' for one reason or another. That way, a vegetarian or someone on a low-sodium diet could pass on the Cheddar-Bacon Muffins, a diabetic could choose something savory rather than sweet, etc. Ordinarily, people can recognize a dish and avoid forbidden foods. But with a muffin, no way to know what's inside until you bite into it.

sm

Now I'm getting lazy....seeing the recipes for "drop scones"...never thought of that....and quick breads too...easier baking but harder serving.
Another idea....suppose I spread the batter for the dropped scones, or something like it onto a jelly roll pan and baked that....then cut into squares....would it get too well done on the edges before it was past gooey in the center? I had someone donate pans of corn bread cooked that way and it was awful...dry and crumbly and tasteless.
Probably be better and easier to just make individual muffins and scones.
And I intend to lable...at least the ones with nuts.