Pancake Mix Muffins

If you stockpile, you MIGHT find yourself with an overabundance of pancake mix. Yes, it’s true. Sometimes you cannot eat enough pancakes to keep your stock from running over. And let me tell ya, we eat a LOT of pancakes. So, I was thinking……what can I do with all this pancake mix? Well, surely to goodness if I can make pancakes from muffin mix I can make muffins from pancake mix…….right? Yes! I am here to offer tons of options for you. I am Mommy – hear me ROAR! Wow, that sounded a little scary. Ignore that part. Let’s make muffin tops – in a GOOD way! And you might want to put your sweatpants on.

You can use whatever pancake mix you have. I had this oatmeal kind, so I went with it. Everyone needs fiber – lots of fiber. I should be the national  spokeswoman for Fiber. Anyway, you need pancake mix, milk, sugar, egg, and oil. That’s your base recipe. You can add whatever you’d like to make whatever flavor floats your boat. I wanted cinnamon, apples, and raisins in mine. I love cinnamon. You could add peanut butter and mashed banana. Or you could add chocolate chips…..or nuts……..or craisins. Man, the possibilities are endless. Just let the creativity go!!!!!!!!!! I think I would avoid chopped shrimp though.

I wanted to use my muffin top pan. I like it…..I use it at least once a week. We’re tight. You can use a regular muffin pan. They take the same amount of batter. I think Muffin Tops have gotten a bad rap. It’s sad really. Muffin tops are a beautiful thing. Oh, spray your pan or use muffin cup liners.

Oops! I totally forgot vanilla. Muffins without vanilla are like pancakes without syrup…..Bonnie without Clyde…..Annie without Elmo.

*And for those of you wondering why I have a Wal-mart vanilla container…….it’s from when Barry and I got married. I just keep refilling it from the bulk bottle I have in the basement. Whew. Had you worried, didn’t I?

Mix all your wet ingredients together – milk, egg, vanilla, and oil. Add the sugar and give it a good stir. It’s sloshy, so don’t get too excited or you’ll have a mess.

Time to add the pancake mix! And anything dry you might be using, like cinnamon or oats. Stir it up just until it’s combined. If you over mix your muffins, they’ll be tough – yuck. No one likes tough muffins….it’s like a hockey puck.

I grated my apples instead of chopping them. I just grated right into the bowl to save dirtying another dish. I have dishpan hands in the winter. They crack when I bend them. It’s sad really……notice my hand in the vanilla picture. Send high-quality hand cream.

I added raisins after the apples and gave it a good stir. Just stir to mix it all up….remember the hockey pucks. This is when you’d add chocolate chips or anything else fun, except shrimp.

Fill cups about ¾ full. I got almost 10 muffins from this, but mine were really big. If you’re going to do muffin tops, do them right.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 13 minutes. Just until they’re done, but not dry. Test after 13 minutes and see if yours are ready. Let them cool just a couple minutes in the pan and then turn them out. Eat them HOT with BUTTER. Oh yeah baby, I said it. BUTTER. Muffins need butter. “Has your muffin been buttered?” Name that movie.