Your Air Fryer Is The Answer For A Small Batch Of Homemade Muffins

Say you have a houseguest (or several) and want to impress them with some muffins in the morning. You don't want to leave them alone to go to the bakery and also want them to wake up to the smell of fresh baked goods. But you also don't want leftovers and certainly don't want to deal with a mess. Your air fryer may be the solution you need, whether you want to make two, four, six or even eight muffins. And you'll be doing it in less time, too.

Muffins can be cooked at a lower temperature in an air fryer versus a conventional oven. In general, air fryers work faster than conventional ovens by rapidly circulating hot air within a small confined space. This also allows you to cook muffins and other foods at lower temperatures. If your air fryer, like Midea's Dual Basket 8-in-1 model, has a baking function, you can relax. The device will automatically adjust the settings used for air frying to the shorter time and temperature needed for baking. If you need to adjust the settings yourself, a good guideline is to lower the temperature 25 degrees and bake for 20 to 25% less time than stated in the recipe. Just check periodically to make sure you don't underbake the muffins.

Bakers disagree on whether or not you need to preheat an air fryer the way you do with an oven. To some, the smaller space allows the air fryer to heat up quickly enough to make preheating necessary. Others say preheating helps activate leavening agents like baking powder, baking soda, and yeast in recipes where you want to get a good rise.

Once you've adjusted the time and temperature, you won't have to make many other changes to your baking process. You can make muffins from scratch or use a mix. To accommodate the smaller size and unconventional shape of some air fryers, you may want to buy a smaller pan, like the WeBake silicone muffin tin, which makes just four muffins, or the round SHEbaking pan that can make seven. Otherwise, any oven-proof dish will work. You can even use individual cupcake cups or ramekins.

When preparing your air-fried muffins, feel free to add some of your favorite mix-ins like berries, dried fruit, nuts, or sprinkles. Just be aware that gooier additions, like cream cheese, jam, or chocolate chips can melt and ooze into the air fryer. Make sure that anything that could melt is completely encased in the dough. You should also line the basket with parchment paper to protect the appliance from damage.

It's always surprising what unexpected foods you can prepare with an air fryer. After seeing how simple it is to bake muffins in the kitchen tool, you may want to try more complicated baked goods. Perhaps you can make cupcakes in an air fryer next, before trying something more advanced like bagels, bread, or pizza. And if you don't have an air fryer but still want to satisfy a sweet tooth, you can always make simple Oreo mug cakes in your microwave.