Wednesday, February 4, 2009

cupcakes vs. muffins

Is the frosting the only real difference?

Last night I made banana muffins. I always use a veganized version of my mom's recipe, and they're really easy. The nicest part is that if I have the bananas on hand, I usually have all of the other ingredients in the cupboard, and I can use up bananas that are about to go bad.

3 bananas- the riper, the better
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup applesauce or the egg replacer equivalent of 1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted margarine
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour

Mush the bananas with a fork. Add sugar, applesauce (or egg replacer), and vegetable oil. Stir it up. Mix in dry ingredients. Fill muffin tins 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Last night I added chocolate chips and walnuts, which raises the muffins vs. cupcakes question. Are they still healthy, wholesome, virtuous muffins when they're this sweet and chocolatey? Or do they slip into the cupcake category? I don't really think they can be cupcakes without some sort of frosting or topping...

Speaking of cupcakes, wouldn't you love to store your freshly baked muffins in this cute cookie jar? It's so adorable!!! And definitely a cupcake.

$49
by fruitflypie

It sure beats the resused, gnarly old plastic ziplock I'm using now!

2 comments:

  1. Ummm your muffins sound delicious, I like the sweet treat lemon muffins with poppy seeds the best, Thank you so much for including my cookie jar!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This distinction has puzzled me too.

    It used to be easy.

    A muffin was frosting-less and more-or-less savory - at least it wasn't sugary-sweet (though there might be sweet blueberries in it). Bran, blueberry, corn.

    A cupcake was, er, cake - with icing/frosting.

    But then in the 80s those muffin and yogurt places sprouted like weeds (and then, mercifully, died like flies), dispensing sugary sweet "muffins" - some with *frosting*.

    So I blame the 80s for the distinction disappearing between muffins and cupcakes.

    ReplyDelete