I have a new love... (First Published 1/13/2012)

 Silicone baking cups, you need some run out and get them right now!  :)  *see notes below*

Seriously though these things are wonderful. I got mine at the local dollar store and will fit the bill for all your muffin/cupcake needs.

Want to know what I baked in them?
I made sweet potato muffins. It was a new recipe for me and they are pretty darn good. Mine did come out pretty dense and next time I will add a bit more cinnamon and nutmeg but they were a hit with me and better yet with the kids. One thing I did different from the recipe below was to peel and boil the sweet potatoes then mash them. Next time I may try the grating method.

Here is what mine looked like…

Here is the recipe I used

Sparky Marie's Sweet Potato Muffins with cinnamon sugar coating
adapted from Cuisine at Home

huffin puffin and muffin

For the muffins:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sweet potato puree (from 1 baked potato)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

For the topping:
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

In a medium bowl, combine all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and ground nutmeg.  Set aside.

In a large pouring vessel combine whole milk, buttermilk, sweet potato puree and vanilla extract.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream unsalted butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer, until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Alternately mix in dry and wet ingredients into the butter, starting and ending with the dry; mix only until each addition is incorporated, DO NOT OVERMIX.

Coat a muffin pan with nonstick spray and fill muffin cups 1/2 full.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

While muffins are baking, in a shallow bowl, combine granulated sugar, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg.  In a separate bowl, melt 1 stick of unsalted butter.

When the muffins are cool enough to handle, yet still warm, remove muffins from the pan, brush them completely with the melted butter, and roll in the sugar mixture to coat. 

Yum!

* A note about the silicone baking cups... I have read some reviews of people not liking them so I thought I would share a bit more about them. First of all I currently have 2 types of muffin tins a regular no stick (yeah right stuff sticks like crazy) metal pan and my Pampered Chef stoneware muffin pan. I really like the results from my PC pan and I use it when I do not want to use papers (which I think are wayyyy overpriced!). Now even though I love MY PC muffin pan It can be a bit of a challenge to clean. Not difficult just a bit of a challenge. The metal one is not much easier in my opinion. It never comes clean in the dishwasher so I have to still do it by hand. OK now Silicone can get a bit sticky from using oil in them or cooking greasy items (not a problem with the muffins above) but a simple solution is a paste made of baking soda. I used as hot a water as I could stand and sprinkled a bit of baking soda into each cup. I rubbed it around with my fingers and rinsed.Simple as that :)