The muffin mix allows you to bake these typical American sweets in a short time and with extreme simplicity, however in some cases the flavor could be a bit disappointing. Fortunately, there are many ways to improve the mixture obtained with the preparation. For example, you can add fresh or frozen fruit to the dough to make muffins even softer and tastier. If you want them to have a crunchy note instead, you can use chopped nuts or toasted coconut flakes. You can indulge yourself with flavors using spices, flavors and many other delicious ingredients!
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Enrich the Muffin Mix with Fruit
Step 1. If you are a proponent of a healthy diet, enrich the muffin dough with fresh or frozen berries
If you like to eat healthy and love berries, you can use strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. The strawberries should be cut into small pieces before adding them to the mixture. If your muffin mix box contains dried fruit or flakes, you can completely replace it with fresh fruit.
- For example, blueberry muffin mix might include fake blueberries or crumbled dried berries. Try to remove them from the powdered mixture and replace them with a handful of fresh or frozen blueberries.
- You can use berries to enrich your fruit or oat bran muffin mix.
Step 2. Enrich the muffin mix with diced fresh fruit
Peaches, strawberries, apples, pears and bananas are excellent options, but you can experiment and use your favorite fruit depending on the season. Cut it into pea-sized pieces before adding it to the dough.
- You can also use canned fruit, for example by combining pineapple and cherries to give a tropical and refreshing taste to muffins.
- Avoid grapes and citrus fruits - such as oranges and grapefruits, as they are difficult to incorporate into the dough and are not suitable for baking.
- You can use fresh fruit to enrich the mix for classic or fruit muffins.
Step 3. Use dehydrated fruit if you want muffins to be soft and compact
Dehydrated mangoes, cherries and cranberries have a nice texture and delicious taste that makes them an excellent addition to muffins. In the absence of anything else, you can also use raisins.
Dehydrated fruit is suitable for enriching the preparation for fruit or oat bran muffins
Step 4. Use pumpkin or banana puree to add flavor and a firmer texture to muffins
For a delicious and hearty snack, you can use a fruit or vegetable puree, rich in vitamins and minerals. Make the dough and add a mashed banana or a spoonful of pumpkin puree, then mix to combine the ingredients.
- If you like to experiment, you can try using carrot or sweet potato puree.
- You can add banana puree to any preparation, while if you want to use pumpkin puree it is best to start with the classic muffin mix.
Step 5. Add lemon zest to classic muffin mix so they have a fresh citrus note
Lemon and poppy seeds are a classic combination when it comes to muffins. First, peel two lemons and add the zest to the dough, then add 2 tablespoons (30 g) of poppy seeds. In the mouth they will seem like crunchy nuggets. Pour the mixture into the molds and bake the muffins following the directions on the preparation box.
Lemon zest is suitable for muffins with a mild flavor, such as classic or oat bran
Method 2 of 3: Change the Texture of the Muffins
Step 1. Add a tablespoon of chopped dried fruit to the muffin mixture to give it a crunchy note
Walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, and almonds are excellent options here. In addition to enriching the texture and taste of muffins, dried fruit brings a significant amount of healthy fats to the recipe. Chop it and add it to the dough creating the combinations you like best.
- Decorate the surface of the muffins with chopped nuts before baking to make them even more crunchy.
- Use caramelized nuts for an even sweeter result.
- Chopped dried fruit is suitable for enriching all types of muffins.
Step 2. Add a tablespoon of hemp seeds, flaxseed flour, or chia seeds to the dough for a healthy way to enrich muffins
Hemp seeds and flaxseed flour have a pleasant texture and a taste reminiscent of toasted hazelnuts. Chia seeds are almost tasteless, but give density and consistency to the dough. All these ingredients are very good for your health.
- Chia seeds have a high absorbency. If the dough seems too dry, add a small amount of one of the liquids provided by the recipe.
- The toasted taste of the seeds goes well with all flavors, so these options suit all types of muffins.
Step 3. Use toasted coconut to enrich the taste and texture of the muffins
Add a tablespoon of toasted coconut to the dough. After pouring it into the molds, add a few more coconut flakes as decoration.
- In the oven, the coconut flakes that decorate the muffins will turn golden and crunchy.
- You can add toasted coconut to fruit muffin mix, for example strawberry or raspberry flavor. It is also great with sweeter flavors, for example in chocolate chip muffins.
- Coconut also goes well with other tropical ingredients, such as pineapple, dried mango and banana.
Step 4. Add a handful of chocolate chips so that they turn into melting and delicious nuggets in the oven
If you don't have milk chocolate chips at home, you can chop a bar with a knife - any type of chocolate will do. The chocolate will become dark and creamy, it will add taste and sweetness to the muffins making them irresistible.
- If you like, you can add a sprinkle of chopped M & Ms on the muffins before baking.
- Feel free to experiment with a wide variety of flavors. For example, add and combine other sweet and delicious ingredients as desired, such as peanut butter, white or dark chocolate chips.
Step 5. Use coconut or almond milk instead of water for extra soft muffins
Generally the instructions on the muffin mix box instruct you to make the dough using water. If you want them to have a softer texture and a richer flavor than normal, you can replace it with the same amount of coconut milk, almonds, soy, or another liquid of your choice.
You can replace the water with vegetable milk in any preparation to keep the dough wetter
Step 6. Sprinkle the muffins with streusel (a cake mix) to make them more delicious and crunchy
Make the streusel by combining 1 tablespoon (15 g) of butter, 2 tablespoons (30 g) of flour, and 1 tablespoon (15 g) of brown sugar in a bowl. Keep stirring until the ingredients are well blended. The streusel must have a grainy consistency, similar to that of the crumble. Pour the batter into the molds and sprinkle the muffins with streusel before baking.
This is a suitable option for muffins of any taste
Method 3 of 3: Enrich the Muffin Mix with Spices and Other Flavors
Step 1. Try enriching the muffin dough with spreadable cheese
This is a suitable option for muffins of any taste. Prepare the dough as normal and pour it into individual molds. Remove the cheese from the refrigerator and cut it into cubes of about half a centimeter until cold. Spread a tablespoon on each of the muffins and bake them in the oven following the directions on the box.
During baking, the cheese will penetrate inside the dough
Step 2. Add a teaspoon (5ml) of vanilla extract to enrich the taste of the muffins
The vanilla extract gives its delicious flavor to the dough, as well as enhances the taste of the other ingredients. You can also try using other extracts, such as almond or lemon, to create new flavor combinations.
For example, you can use one teaspoon (5ml) of lemon extract and one teaspoon (4g) of poppy seeds
Step 3. Add cinnamon, nutmeg or cocoa powder to make the muffins even more tempting and delicious
Use a teaspoon (4 g) of the spice you want. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cocoa powder are delicious options, but they're certainly not the only ones. You can try using allspice or a blend of spices, including ginger, cloves, and cardamom. Check the pantry to see what spices you have available and experiment until you find the perfect combination.
- For example, you can enrich the banana muffin dough with cinnamon, chopped ginger and nutmeg. For a crunchy result, add a handful of chopped walnuts as well.
- Enrich the classic muffin dough with cinnamon and vanilla extract.
- If you want to make pumpkin muffins, use the same spices that are used to prepare the classic American pumpkin pie (the so-called "pumpkin pie"), namely cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, mace or cardamom and nutmeg in dust. Also add a handful of chopped pecans.
Step 4. Use brown sugar instead of white sugar for a sweeter, richer taste
If you are making muffins from scratch, replace the granulated sugar with brown sugar while keeping the doses unchanged. Brown sugar is slightly sweeter and gives the muffins a richer taste, reminiscent of maple syrup.
In addition to replacing the granulated sugar in the dough, you can sprinkle the muffins with cinnamon and brown sugar before putting them in the oven, to give them a crunchy note
Step 5. Decorate the muffins with icing to make them more beautiful and greedy
If you have a passion for decorated desserts, try garnishing the muffins with icing after letting them cool. You can enrich the glaze to taste, for example by using cocoa powder if you have made chocolate muffins. For lemon poppy seed muffins, you can add a little lemon juice. The possibilities are endless!
