Muffins (Using Biscuit Mix)

This is the kind of muffin recipe you lean on when the pantry is near empty and the morning is already moving fast. Biscuit mix (Bisquick or any equivalent) already contains the flour, leavening, salt, and fat, so four ingredients get you eight soft, tender muffins in half an hour. No mixer, no creaming, no waiting for butter to soften.

The key move is restraint at the stir. Barely moisten the dry ingredients and stop as soon as the flour streaks disappear. A lumpy batter is correct. Smooth batter means you’ve overmixed, and overmixed muffins bake up tough and tunnel-holed. Fill the cups two-thirds full for domed tops without spillover.

Pro Tips

• Use room-temperature egg and water. Cold liquids tighten the batter and slow the rise.
• Don’t grease muffin tops. Greasing only the wells keeps the edges crisp and clean.
• Check at 18 minutes. Ovens run hot, and biscuit-mix muffins go from golden to dry quickly.
• Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out. Any longer and the bottoms steam into the tins.
• Swap water for milk or buttermilk for a richer, softer crumb.

Variations

• Stir in ¾ cup fresh or frozen blueberries for classic blueberry muffins.
• Add ½ cup chocolate chips and a teaspoon of vanilla for kid-friendly dessert muffins.
• Mix in ½ cup diced apple and ½ teaspoon cinnamon for a fall-flavored version.