Tweet

For this week’s Blogger Secret Ingredient, Amy @ Coffee Talk chose WALNUTS! A perfectly wintery ingredient – I knew just what to do with them… Muffin mix may be a bit of a cop out, but with the right alterations you can get some awesome baked goodies.

How To Pimp Muffin Mix

Step 1:  Buy muffin mix at local supermarket.  Sales are good.  Mine was $2 for this box of Fiber One Banana Nut mix.

Step 2:  Pick your mixins.  I like to pick 1 each from 2 categories: nuts and fruit.

Good fruits:

• apples, pears, bananas, peaches, etc…

Good nuts:

• WALNUTS, peanuts, almonds, cashews, etc…

Step 3:  Chop the fruit (2 pieces – I used 2 apples) in little bits.  Dump into a bowl.

Step 4:  Take about 1/4 – 1/2 cup of walnuts (depending on how nutty you want the muffins – I don’t use that many) and crumble them up.  Dump this in with the fruit.

Step 5:  Add the mix and follow their instructions, but increase the oven temp by 25F because of the fruit.  (Adding eggs, water, oil, etc…)

Step 6:  Spoon muffin mix into muffin tins.  I like to use a measuring cup for ease (1/4 cup size).  I pour in heaping 1/4 cups.

Step 7:  Top with more walnuts!  But be careful that they don’t get burned, which mine did.  Use a very low rack in the oven.

Step 8: Bake!

Step 9:  Lick the bowl.

Step 10:  Eat lots of muffins.

This recipe made 16 muffins (the original box was only supposed to make 12, but the apples bulked them up!).  The walnuts on top and in the batter made these incredibly delicious.  We’ve been eating them all day.

What’s your favorite pre-prepared food?  The only ones I ever really make are baked mixes, like for muffins or cornbread.

Like this post? Check out...

• 1 November, 2008 -- Pear & Crab Salad – Blogger Secret Ingredient
• 30 November, 2008 -- Last night of the weekend… so sad.
• 24 October, 2008 -- Cocoa Banana Oat Muffins
• 31 May, 2009 -- BSI: Corn Bitelettes
• 30 November, 2008 -- Almond butter attack!