MǑʵ̥

Mastering

hen I ran my specialty-food store,

Barefoot Contessa, we used to

make a lot of muffins. I mean,

a lot. On a Saturday in the summer, we’d

bake a thousand muffins and still run out!

The bakers would come out of the kitchen

and before they were three steps through

the door, customers would start grabbing

the muffins right off their trays!

We had a few tricks so we could bake

that many muffins and also make sure

they came out great every time. Flavorful

muffins start with flavorful ingredients, so

we filled ours with all sorts of good things.

Pecans, coconut and raisins gave these

Morning Glory Muffins lots of texture, and

carrots and apple kept them moist all day.

At the store we made large batches of

batter and stored it in the refrigerator for a

day or two. Whenever we needed muffins,

we’d just scoop the batter right into the

pans. We used a standard ice cream scoop

so the muffins were all a beautiful uniform

size. And we oiled the tops of the muffin

pans so the muffins would come out easily.

Even if you aren’t baking a thousand

muffins a day, these tips and tricks are

useful. If you make the batter in advance,

you can have freshly baked muffins in the

morning for family and friends. They’ll

think you’re a total professional!

w

Ina Garten tells

us how to bake

a better batch.

RECIPE FROM

COOK LIKE A PRO.

COPYRIGHT ©2018 BY INA GARTEN.

PUBLISHED BY CLARKSON POTTER/PUBLISHERS, AN IMPRINT OF PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE, LLC.

68 FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE ●JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

PHOTO: RALPH SMITH; FOOD STYLING: CHRISTINE ALBANO; PROP STYLING: BARB FRITZ.