If you are having problems viewing this, see the online version here:
http://www.preparedpantry.com/nancy/nancyemail2-16-09.htm

How to Make the Perfect Banana and Other Muffins!
Techniques, Tips, Recipes, and Deals!

Welcome to “Nancy’s Pantry”, a food and recipe newsletter for Nancylanders.  Every recipe is tested in The Prepared Pantry test kitchen and approved by our testers.  All products are guaranteed by The Prepared Pantry.  While any transaction will be with The Prepared Pantry, a portion goes to Nancy’s Rainy Day Fund.

We love rich, moist banana muffins.  For us, the perfect banana muffin is going to be very banana-rich but still be light and tender with a high dome.   We set out to make the perfect banana muffin.

With this issue, you’ll make the best banana muffins ever.   You’ll find methods and techniques. You'll also find great banana muffin recipes--including chocolate and cinnamon chippers. 

In this issue, you will find:

  • The Quest for the Perfect Banana Muffins
  • Variations on the Perfect Banana Muffins
  • Make Just the Muffin Tops
  • How to Make High Domes on your Muffins
  • How Sweet is Sweet Enough
  • The Last Chance to Get a Donut Pan
  • What You’ll Need . . .
  • Get an Aebleskiver Pan for Less than $10!
  • This Week’s featured Mixes
  • This Week’s Specials

Thanks for joining with us today. 

Nancy Rogers & Dennis Weaver

Nancy's Kitchen & The Prepared Pantry

The Quest for the Perfect Banana Muffin

The perfect banana muffin was more elusive than we expected.  We wanted a banana muffin that was banana-rich but still light and airy like a cake and with high domes.  But when we loaded up the batter with bananas--enough to make it really taste like bananas--the fruit weighed the muffin down so that it was dense and unattractive. 

Finally we concluded that we needed some good banana flavor.  It’s hard to get enough banana flavor with bananas alone.  We discovered that a little banana flavor really makes for a dynamite banana nut muffins.  So we searched the right flavor and went back to the test kitchen.  The banana flavor that we chose was the Select Tea brand made by Nature's Flavors. We really like it and think you will too.

The Perfect Banana Muffin Variations

Variety is half the fun of baking.  Once we had our banana muffin recipe down, we started experimenting--a banana muffin for every occasion. 

  • Jumbo Banana Muffins. Here's the recipe.  All we had to do was change the baking time. 
  • Banana Muffin Tops. Muffin tops are better.  We used a muffin top pan.  Again, the baking times are different.
  • Fancy Little Banana Muffins. We used a mini-cheesecake pan to make the classiest little muffins.  We made these little “tall hat” muffins with and without streusel.  The removable bottoms in the pan make them a snap to remove. 
  • Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.  We made these kid favorites (actually, they were favorites with the crew also) with the simple addition of dark chocolate chips.
  • Banana Cinnamon Chip Muffins.  These are really good muffins made with cinnamon chips. 

Make just the muffin tops!

There is an old Seinfeld episode where Jerry is cutting the tops off the muffins and throwing the bottoms away.  That’s because the tops are better than the bottoms.  Everyone likes muffin tops better. 

Now you can make just the tops without the bottoms—with a muffin top pan.  It’s easy—and there’s no digging muffins from the pan.  Just lift the muffin tops off the pan. 

Don’t miss the last chance to get a donut pan for half price!

It’s easy to avoid the fat and bake donuts in your oven.   We bought a ton of donut pans at a special price and they are almost gone.  But you can get one until Friday at midnight while supplies last. 

Just pick any two donut mixes and get the pan for half price.

How to Make High Domes on Your Muffins

You too can have spectacular high-domed muffins.  Some time ago, we wrote an article setting forth how to make muffins with high domes.  We used those principles for the muffin recipes here and you can use them with your recipes.

How Sweet is Sweet Enough?

Some of our readers asked for a sweeter muffin. We've long been aware of the debate between muffin lovers: Should they be sweet like a cake or more like a bread? We like to slather butter and jam on a hot muffin and prefer them not overly rich and sweet--but everyone has their own tastes.   Our recipes and mixes tend to be like a sweet bread, not as rich, sweet, and buttery as a cake.  We think they are perfect with butter and jam.

Save up to 25% on this week's featured mixes!

Get bread for as little as $2.99 per mix.  Don't miss the chance to stock up these favorite baking mixes.

  • Easy Onion and Herb Focaccia
  • Easy Vanilla Macaroons
  • Easy Chocolate Macaroons
  • Asiago Cheese Bread
  • California Raisin Bread
  • Knobby Apple Bread
  • Butterscotch Pecan Crunch Cookies
  • San Francisco Sourdough Bread

  • Save 20% on these favorite baking mixes! >>

Get an aebleskiver pan for less than $10, a mix, and a free decorating set!

Right now, you can get and an aebleskiver pan for under ten dollars. If you buy a mix with a pan, you get a free eight tip decorating set. Use the decorating set to decorate your valentine's cookies and to fill aebleskiver or cupcakes with whipped cream, pudding, or pastry cream.

What you’ll need to make the recipes in this issue

Here are the tools and ingredients we used to make the muffins in this issue. 

  • Standard and jumbo nonstick muffin pans Your muffin pans should be heavy and dark and absolutely nonstick.  We let our muffins sit for three to five minutes and then just lifted them out.
  • Mini cheesecake pans These are the pans that we used to make those classy little high top muffins.  The pan is designed for little cheesecakes but it makes marvelous little half-sized muffins. 
  • Mr. Mister Even though we used quality nonstick pans, it's a good idea to spray your pans with oil.  We like a mister because it's quick and easy and reaches down into the corners. 
  • Muffin top pans As far as we're concerned, this is an essential in any kitchen.  Why make a muffin when you can make only the tops?  The tops are the best part. 
  • Large ice cream scoop You need a way to measure out the same amount of batter for each muffin cavity.  This does it.  A mounded scoop fills a standard muffin cavity; two scoops are just right for jumbo muffins. 
  • Silicone spatulas We don't bake without our silicone spatulas.  We use them for mixing and scraping bowls clean.  The soft, thin-bladed spatula is incredible for removing that occasional muffin or cake that does stick. 
  • Pure dark chocolate chips Better ingredients make for better baking and right now these pure chocolate chips are on sale.  Made by a candy maker and they taste like it.  
  • Cinnamon chips These make great banana cinnamon chip muffins--but use them in cookies, scones, and pancakes too.  These belong in every serious baker's kitchen.

This Week’s Specials!

There are nearly a hundred specials this week at savings up to 50%.  Here are just a few:

Nancy's Kitchen | The Prepared Pantry | 2 North Landmark Lane, Rigby, Idaho 83442 | 1-866-745-7892