Muffin Musings

About a year ago I came up with the idea of making celery muffins, and somehow because of this, I have become known as the veritable Muffin Lady to my friends and family. It used to annoy me, because quite honestly, I wasn't even a big fan of muffins! Since then, however, I have begun to embrace muffins and become a bit more intimate with them. Yay for muffins! (Adorable comic strip courtesy of Kawaii Not.)

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On Muffin Tops

When I first moved back to Houston, I discovered Panera Bread. One day when I stood at their pastry counter and asked "what type of cookie is that?" I learned that people sell and eat muffin tops. Muffin. Tops. Muffin TOPS?! Uhhhm... what happened to the rest of the muffin? I wondered why anyone would want to just eat the top of the muffin - seems ludicrous!

Since then I have asked around and found out that apparently many people enjoy the top of the muffin and don't care so much for the rest of it. While I find this idea maddening, I must be alone, because they even make special baking pans specifically for muffin tops! What is this world coming to?! Besides, who wants to eat something with a name that can also mean "unsightly rolls of belly fat"? Not me, anyway.
(Of course, I had to pick the most un-muffin-top-looking muffin to be my model for this photograph. Sigh...)

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On Muffin Bottoms

Yes. As for me, myself, personally... I much prefer the muffin bottom. The meat of the muffin! The pleasure center, if you will. Ever since I was a kid, I've eaten my cupcakes and muffins upside-down. I peel off the paper wrapper and set my muffin top-down onto it. Initially, I'm sure this started with cupcakes and my OCD-ish tendency to "save the best for last" (because I loved the frosting). But the more I started to do this, the more I began enjoying the cake part and became disinterested in the top part. Now, you might even catch me scooping the cake part out of the muffin top (like a bowl) and tossing what's left into the trash. I'm sure that is probably the weirdest thing you've ever heard, you muffin-top-enjoyer, but believe me when I say it's much more delicious this way!

As a muffin-bottom-lover, I was overjoyed to discover a new technique for lining my muffin tins. Set aside those cute little paper liners and save them for decoration later! Spray your tin with cooking spray and coat that baby in sugar! The muffins pop easily out of the tin, have a smoothed "crust" around the bottom (which I find very visually appealing), and the taste is amazing! They will have a slightly crispy, sweet crust on them that is absolutely to die for!

So the next time you eat a muffin, give some extra love to the bottom, where the heart of the muffin really lies. Bottoms up, I say!