Pineapple is a very delicious, juicy and sweet fruit. It is extremely nutritious and is fully packed with taste. This fruit is a no fat fruit and is really healthy for figure conscious people. It even has a lot of fibre in it and is rich in a lot of vitamins and minerals that are required by the body for development. Thus, this fruit stands as a very good ingredient for any recipe, especially for something that children would love to have.

To make a pineapple muffin the basic requirements are:

• Two full cups of all purpose flour along with half a cup of white sugar
• One table spoon of baking powder
• Half a teaspoon of salt just to add the flavour
• A can of crushed pineapple (8 ounces)
• One egg
• A cup of milk and
• A cup of melted butter.

Once you gather everything together you can start with making the muffins.

Start with preheating the oven to 375 degrees F or 190 degrees C. Then, get a muffin tray with 12 to 14 muffin moulds or just get 12 normal muffin cups. Grease them with oil and flour them, or line them with paper liners or paper cups.

Next, take a mixing bowl and put the 2 cups of flour in it. Add to it, the white sugar and baking powder. Add the small amount of salt after this to enhance the taste. Then stir all of these together for a while.

Take another mixing bowl and mix egg, milk and the quarter cup of melted butter together.

Now pour this mixture of eggs and milk right in the center of the mixture of the all purpose flour and sugar. Keep stirring as you pour them in. After that, add the crushed pineapple and the pineapple juice and fold it in. You can even add other fruits, cinnamon, walnuts etc. to add your own personal touch to the muffins. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes a smooth batter.

Once the batter is done, just spoon it into the muffin cups. If you like you can even spoon the pineapple and other fruits over the batter. Make sure you do not fill the cups to the brim, just fill 3/4^th of them otherwise it will ooze out of the cups while baking.

Bake them for 30 minutes. After that is done, put in a toothpick at the center of the muffin and see if it comes out clean or just touch the tops of the muffins gently and see if they bounce back. If they do, even in any one of the cases, then your muffins are ready to serve.

Take your muffin cups out of the oven and keep them to cool a little for about 5 minutes. Take them out and serve them warm.

Serve at tea, breakfast or at any occasion.

- Shaan.

Muffins date back to the 10th or 11th century, when they were made on grills in Wales. But, needless to worry what we make today are new kinds of muffins which are like breads and originated somewhere near the 18th century in the US and were made not out of dough, but were made of batter and were cooked in ovens.

Muffins have come a long way since then; it is much simpler to make these today, in comparison to those days. So there is no point waiting… given below is the recipe of the very basic muffin, the plain muffin.

The following are the basic ingredients you would require to make your simple muffins:

1. One full cup of all purpose flour
2. Two tea spoons of baking powder
3. Half a tea spoon of baking soda
4. A little less than one full cup of sugar
5. One third cup of canola oil
6. A tea spoon of salt to add flavor
7. One large egg
8. And one tea spoon of pure vanilla extract
9. One cup of melted butter.

Method:

• After you gather all of these together, make a start by getting a muffin tray with around 12 to 14 moulds or 12 simple muffin cups.
• Grease the cups with the oil on the sides or line with paper liners or paper cups.
• Then, preheat your oven up to 400 degrees F or 200 degrees C.
• Now, take a large mixing bowl and put the all purpose flour along with sugar in it. Then add baking powder and baking soda to it. Stir them together for a while.
• Now take another mixing bowl and add the egg and beat it gently for a few minutes. Add the vanilla extract and butter in it and stir them all together.
• When this is done, make a well in the middle of the dry mixture of the all purpose flour and sugar and pour in the liquid mixture of eggs and butter, right at the centre. Keep stirring the mixture as you pour one into the other. Stir until the mixture starts becoming a smooth batter.
• Once the mixture is done, bring in your muffin cups and gently spoon the batter into them. Make sure that you do not fill the cups to the brim as they may ooze out while baking. Only fill up till 3/4th of the cups. If you like your muffins sweeter than usual you can sprinkle sugar crystals on top.
• Next, just put the cups in the preheated oven and leave them to bake for about 20 minutes. After that just see if your muffins look crispy, golden and risen. To make absolutely sure if your muffins are done or not, insert a toothpick right at the top of the muffin, through the centre and see if it comes out clean. If it does, your muffins are cooked well.
• Take them out, leave to cool for five minutes and then serve.

These muffins can have extreme variety as you can choose to put in your favorite fruits, dry fruits, nuts etc into the batter before baking and have an all new type of muffin. You can even serve them with a range of add ons such as syrups or whipped cream.

- Shaan

Figure conscious? Or really trying hard to lose weight and sacrificing on your sweet content? Well, we have just the solution for you!

Low fat blueberry muffins shall make your day. Blueberries are, as it is, extremely healthy fruits. Rich in fiber and really high in all the necessary nutrients, these make an excellent ingredient for any recipe.

The delicious and warm blueberry muffins that we are about to make are extremely hard to beat and too irresistible. And guess what? We wouldn’t give you any reason to resist them at all. The recipe of the blueberry muffins given below is with “fat” cut really low and normal muffin ingredients substituted with the ones that shall not harm your figure even a bit.

All you need is (ingredients):

Two cups of all purpose flour, one tea spoon of baking powder, half a tea spoon of baking soda, a little more than a quarter cup of sugar, a quarter tea spoon of salt, one large egg and a cup of blueberries.

You would even need about 2 table spoons of canola oil which is extremely good for the heart and is a very good low fat substitute for butter or other fats used to make muffins. Do not forget to have a cup of non-fat milk to add to your recipe.

Method:

To start with, preheat your oven to about 400 degrees F or 200 degrees C. Take a muffin tray with about 12 moulds or just 12 normal muffin cups. Line these cups with paper cups or just use your cooking spray to make sure that your muffins do not stick to the corner of the cups after baking.

Take a large mixing bowl and add the all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and the baking soda into it. Add salt after this. Mix well.

Take another mixing bowl and add eggs into it. Beat lightly for a while and put in the non-fat milk and the canola oil. Keep stirring as you add these.

Put the wet mixture of eggs and milk into the mixture of the all purpose flour right in the centre and keep stirring as you do it. Stir until the whole mixture turns into a smooth batter and fold in the blueberries next. Stir well again. Make sure that no lumps are there in the batter finally. You can even add cinnamon, walnuts or any other fruits that are your personal favorites.

Once the batter is done, all you need to do is, spoon the batter into the muffin cups gently. Do not fill the cups to the brim, make sure only 3/4th of it is filled. Bake for 20 minutes. After baking, softly touch the centre of your muffins and see if they bounce back, to make sure if they are cooked completely.

Then take out you muffin cups and let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
After cooling, empty the cups into a serving tray and serve.

Have with family and friends at any occasion; serve with whipped cream or chocolate for children to make it more interesting.

- Shaan

To make Chocolate Chip Muffins, given below are the basic things you would require:

1. One full cup of all purpose flour
2. One and a half tea spoon of baking powder
3. Half a tea spoon of baking soda
4. 2 table spoon of cocoa powder
5. A little less than one full cup of sugar
6. 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
7. Three fourth cup of semi sweet chocolate chip
8. One third cup of vegetable oil
9. One large egg
10. And one tea spoon of pure vanilla extract
11. One cup of melted butter.

After gathering these together, start with getting a muffin tray with 12 to 14 moulds or 12 muffin cups.

Grease these with vegetable oil on the sides or line with paper liners or paper cups.

Preheat your oven up to 400 degrees F or 200 degrees C.

Then take a mixing bowl and put the all purpose flour in it. Add Sugar, baking powder and baking soda in it. Then add three fourth cups of chocolate chips into a bowl. Stir them together for a while.

Now take another mixing bowl and add the egg and beat it gently for a few minutes. Add the vanilla extract and butter in it. Stir them all together.

Then add this liquid mixture of eggs and butter to the dry mixture of the all purpose flour and sugar, right at the centre. Keep stirring the mixture as you do this. Stir until the mixture starts becoming a smooth batter. Add in the chocolate chips next and fold all of it in.

Once the mixture becomes an absolutely smooth batter, get your muffin cups and spoon the batter gently into them. Do not fill your cups to the brim as they may ooze out while baking. Fill only up to 3/4th of the cups. If you like you can even sprinkle the chocolate chip on top of the batter after putting them into the cups.

Put the cups in the oven and leave them to bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. After that just see if your muffins are fluffy and risen, just to make sure insert a toothpick right at crown of the muffin, through the centre and see if it comes out clean. If it does, your muffins are ready to serve.

Take them out of the over and keep them on a shelf to cool for 5 minutes. Take them out of the cups and dish up. Have it with more chocolate or syrups or whipped cream or just simply as per your choice.

If you like experimenting you can even mix in dry fruits or fruits like bananas, strawberries, blueberries, pineapples etc. that are your favorites, to the batter before baking; to give it your personal touch.

Chocolate as we all know is something that almost everyone loves with all their heart and might. This recipe would be an absolute delight for any member, old or young in the family.

- Shaan

All that we need to start with making these muffins are:

Ingredients:

1. Pineapple slices in Juice, drained. ( About 10 ounces)
2. Brown Sugar ( 2 to 3 table spoons)
3. Whole wheat Flour ( Three- fourth of a cup)
4. All purpose Flour (Three Fourth of a cup)
5. A bit of salt (Around a teaspoon)
6. Baking Soda (Half a teaspoon)
7. Canola Oil (One- Fourth of a cup)
8. Eggs (About 2 large eggs)
9. Pineapple Juice (Two table spoons)
10. Some crushed pineapple (8 ounces)
11. Vanilla Extract (One teaspoon)
12. And, of course, a muffin tray with 12 slots or 12 muffin cups.

Method:

Once we have all of these ingredients we can start with making the muffins.

• Firstly, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F or 190 to 200 degrees C.

• Grease your muffin cups with oil.

• Then stack the pineapple slices and cut them into 6 to seven pieces or wedges and keep them aside.

• Sprinkle the bottom of the muffin cups with brown sugar and place two to three wedges over the brown sugar in each of these cups. Then keep these cups aside.

• Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon of walnuts over the sugar, and then place two wedges of pineapple into each cup. Set aside.

• Take a large mixing bowl and put in the white flour and the all purpose flour in it. Add the baking soda, baking powder and a bit of salt to it. If you please, you may even add your favourite nuts such as walnuts or ingredients such as cinnamon as per your choice to give the muffins an absolutely distinct taste.

• Take another mixing bowl and add to it the eggs, half cup of brown sugar, canola oil and pineapple juice. Stir well. Then add vanilla as you continue to stir.

• Put the mixture of the egg slowly into the bowl with the mixture of flour and keep stirring as you do it. Make sure you stir until there are no lumps being formed in the batter. Put in the crushed pineapple into the batter. You may even add in other fruits, nuts and raisins as per your choice. Now fill the batter into the muffin cups with the help of a spoon. Do not over fill, make sure only 3/4th of the cups are packed with the batter.

• Bake the muffins for about 20 to 25 minutes and then touch softly and see if the tops bounce back or not. If they do, they are ready to serve. Loosen the edges of the muffins with the help of a knife and invert them in a tray so that the pineapples show up at the top.

Enjoy as an evening delight or on any occasion with family and friends.

- Shaan

Strawberry is a fruit widely available and grows well in all cold places. Its seasons vary from place to place and from region to region. Strawberries are therefore are available almost all around the year, fresh or frozen.

Muffins on the other hand are basically breads in small portions. In other words they can even be called small cake pieces which are usually round at the top and generally sweet, though less sweet than cup cakes.

Both of them together make a wonderful combination and end up being a great source of taste and nutrition.
Soft, gooey, melt in the mouth treat for any happy occasion! Given below is the recipe for strawberry muffins…

Strawberry muffins are easy to make and very appetizing. To start making strawberry muffins you need to have:

Ingredients:

1. Strawberries ( A cup full)
2. Eggs ( One)
3. Baking powder ( One table spoon)
4. All purpose flour ( One and a half cup)
5. White sugar ( Half a cup)
6. Milk ( Half a cup)
7. Some butter/oil and
8. A bit of salt.

Method:

• To go about making these muffins you first need to get a muffin tin or tray, with eight to ten moulds. After getting that, oil each mould so that your muffins don’t stick to its corners while baking.

• Then, preheat your oven to about 190 degrees C (375 degrees F).

• Take a bowl now and add oil/butter, milk and egg into it and beat lightly. Take another bowl and mix 1.5 cups of flour, 1 tsp of baking powder and 0.75 sugar. When it is mixed well put in the chopped strawberries and mix again. Slowly pour in milk mixture and stir all of it together until it becomes a smooth batter.

• Once the batter is ready, bring in the muffin moulds/cups and fill them up with the batter. Bake at 375 degrees F for over 25 to 30 minutes. To test whether the muffins are cooked use a toothpick as a tester and insert it at the centre of one of the muffins and see if it comes out clean, another way to test is to touch the tops of the muffins and see if they bounce back.

• Keep the muffin tray out on a shelf to cool for ten to fifteen minutes and then take the muffins out and serve.

The muffins will be a complete delight to not only to the taste buds but even to the eyes. These muffins shall please everyone in the family, especially the young ones. Make them for any celebration or just as an evening snack for the family. Serve them with whipped cream or chocolate or any other alternative you think shall go with this recipe and please yourself and everyone around you.

- Shaan

Blueberries are even considered to be one of the healthiest fruits around. They are very rich in Vitamin A, B and C and their consumption reduces the risk of cancer. Very high in fibre and low in saturated fat; blueberries make the best ingredients for all recipes.

Blueberry muffins are therefore one of the most delicious and nutritious kinds of muffins enjoyed all around the world. These muffins are usually considered to be a wonderful breakfast snack loved by people from all age groups.

We shall now discuss a very simple recipe to make your very own basic blueberry muffin. All you need to have to start is:

1. One and a half cups of all-purpose flour
2. One table spoon of baking powder
3. Half cup of sugar
4. Half tea spoon salt
5. One egg
6. Half cup of milk
7. One-fourth cup shortening, melted and cooled.
8. One cup of blueberries.

Blueberries used can be fresh or frozen. Due to this quality blueberry muffins can be made all around the year for all different occasions. Do not forget to rinse and drain the blueberries before using.

To start with – take a mixing bowl and add sugar, all purpose flour, baking powder and salt and mix it well together. Then take another mixing bowl and add egg and milk and whisk them together.

Drain out the egg and milk into the bowl filled with the dry mix of flour and sugar. As you are pouring in the milk and egg mix keep stirring the whole mixture. Stir until the mixture becomes a smooth batter. Mix in the cooled melted shortening as well until all the ingredients are blended. In the end, put in the blueberries and mix well.

You can experiment and put in your favourite ingredients like some nuts and add a distinct and new flavour to your basic muffin.

Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F or 190 degree C. Grease about 12 muffin cups with oil and fill in the batter in the cups with the help of a spoon. Do not over fill the cups, fill only about two third of the cup. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 to 25 minutes. After the 25 mins use a toothpick as a tester and prick the centre of one of your muffins and see if it comes out clean. If it does, your blueberry muffin is ready to serve.

Take your muffin tray out and keep them on a shelf for a while. Let it cool for ten minutes and then take your muffins out of the tray. Serve them at breakfast or as an evening snack. Add on a sugar coat on top or have them with chocolate or whipped cream as per your taste.

Make yourself and your whole family indulge in the great taste of this healthy muffin.

- Shaan