23 Bite-Size Appetizers and Snacks You Can Make in a Muffin Pan
Our selection of irresistible snackable foods includes mini mac and cheese cups, sticky buns, jumbo popovers, and more.
Chris Simpson
Muffin tins aren't just for muffins or cupcakes. They can be a real workhorse in the kitchen as long as you have the right recipes. To that end, we're sharing a delicious selection of recipes that put your muffin tin to good use in both sweet and savory applications.
The options here take you through the day, from breakfast to lunch to snacks. Some could even be dinner appetizers or a full meal when paired with a hearty side. And they lean sweet as well as savory, which means we've got dessert covered. Mini cheesecakes with apricot dollops on top? Strawberry shortcakes? Mini pecan tassies? Keep reading to learn how to turn your muffin tins into multi-functional pieces of cookware.
Related: 29 Muffin Recipes You'll Be Baking All the Time, From Classic to Creative
Breakfast Egg-and-Cheese Muffins
A protein-packed breakfast, these moist sour cream muffins are not your usual cake-like affair. They have a lot of savory ingredients hiding within. Slice one open, and you'll find bits of breakfast sausage, Asiago cheese, sliced scallions, and a whole egg! The eggs are boiled for a few minutes before they are hidden in the batter so that when they come out of the oven, they have a perfectly soft-boiled texture.
Easy Florentine Egg Cups
Get your toast and eggs all in one bite. Press slices of sandwich bread into muffin tins and crack a whole egg into each. As they bake, the whites set but the yolks remain runny. All you need is a light salad to make it a meal.
Cinnamon-Sugar Ragamuffins
Baking leftover pie dough scraps with cinnamon sugar to create a sweet treat inspired this recipe. It features a buttery layered biscuit dough that's sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, rolled up like cinnamon rolls, and baked in a muffin tin until the layers rise and become flaky.
Strawberry Shortcakes
While strawberry shortcakes are usually made with biscuits, this recipe swaps those for tender little cakes that are baked in muffin tins. The spongey cakes are perfect for soaking up all of the juices from the macerated strawberries. Don't forget to top each with a generous dollop of whipped cream.
Kugel Muffins
Kugel sometimes leans sweet, and other times savory; but it's almost always baked casserole-style in a big baking dish. These individual egg noodle muffins are a great blend of sweet and savory, being packed with cottage cheese, dried currants, and orange marmalade.
Giant Cheese Popovers
What's better than a traditional popover? Jumbo popovers filled with nutty Gruyère cheese, that's what. The eggs are whisked to create a light and airy batter, so the popovers are sky-high once they emerge from the oven.
Pull-Apart Vanilla-Wafer Cupcake Cake With Berries
Have you ever turned cupcakes into a full-sized cake? Just line them up like soldiers on a serving tray and frost them like you would a normal cake. We use a gelatin-stabilized whipped cream frosting and fresh berries for this recipe, but the sky's the limit when it comes to toppings—classic chocolate and rainbow sprinkles, anyone?
Mini Cornbread Puddings
If cornbread muffins and creamed corn got together, these little treats would be the result. The mini puddings are loaded up with sour cream and whole corn kernels, and they bake up moist and custard-like. Feel free to spice things up by stirring in some canned diced green chiles.
Gooey Gouda Puff-Pastry Bites
These two-biters are just the thing to pass around before a holiday dinner or during cocktail hour. These savory puff pastry bites are enveloped in Gouda cheese. Introduce a slightly sweet element by topping each with a dollop of lingonberry jam.
Peanut Butter Cups
Everyone's favorite candy can easily be made at home in mini muffin tins. Create a wall of chocolate by brushing it up the edges of small paper liners, then pipe in the peanut butter filling and top off with more melted chocolate. Use bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (or milk chocolate if you want it to be even more like the original).
Mini Cheesecakes With Apricot Jam
These cheesecakes look a little like sunny-side-up eggs, but they are as sweet as can be. Layer chocolate wafer cookie crumbs and the smooth cream cheese mixture into lined muffin tins and bake until the filling is set. Top each with a vibrant dollop of apricot jam.
Martha's Sugar Buns
These sugar buns are reminiscent of cinnamon rolls, except the cinnamon sugar is pressed onto the outsides of the buns. Pull the layers apart one by one and dip them into your morning coffee.
Corned-Beef Egg Cups
These no-fuss egg cups require just five ingredients and 20 minutes of bake time, so you can rise and dine in no time. Slices of potato bread line muffin tins to create tasty baskets to hold baby spinach, sautéed shallots, and chopped corned beef or ham. Crack eggs on top and bake just until the whites wobble.
Muffin-Pan Potato Gratins
All you need for this delectable weeknight side dish is potatoes, butter, and cream. The potato stacks pair beautifully with roast beef, steak, chicken, or sautéed fish.
Popovers
You don't need a popover pan to bake the titular roll; a muffin tin works just as well. We break down our classic recipe step by step and then experiment with variations galore, try Gruyère and thyme, chive, bacon and black pepper, or dark chocolate or cinnamon sugar,
Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups
Muffin tins crank out perfect single servings of your favorite savory breakfast trio. Instead of dipping toast points into the runny egg yolks, you can enjoy them both in the same bite—with a welcome crunch from smoky bacon.
Mini Frittatas
Use a muffin pan to quickly whip up dozens of these bite-size hors d'oeuvres. You can add whatever meat, cheese, and vegetables you like—these are made with sautéed mushrooms, zucchini, and peppers. They'll be the first to go at your next brunch!
Brown Sugar and Pecan Sticky Buns
Break out your jumbo muffin pans for this impressive make-ahead recipe. Everyone will love the flaky, rich dough and sticky-sweet glaze. If pecans aren't your thing, walnuts are a wonderful substitute.
Upside-Down Mango Tartlets
Use store-bought puff pastry and a muffin pan to make a quicker, cuter version of the classic French caramelized tart. A splash of dark rum brings out the flavor of the mango topping.
Phyllo Cups with Cappuccino Cream
Bake sheets of frozen phyllo dough into delicate golden cups and fill them with espresso-and-cardamom whipped cream. A sprinkling of cocoa powder completes the elegant dessert.
Individual Mac and Cheese Cups
We take our classic macaroni and cheese and up the cute factor by dividing it into muffin tins. Pop a few as an appetizer or serve them for dinner—kids and adults alike will approve.
Turkey Meatloaf Muffins
Ground turkey makes these domed little beauties a healthy weeknight supper. Bonus: Baking them in a muffin tin instead of a loaf pan means they cook in a fraction of the time.
Pecan Tassies
These miniature versions of pecan pies are a cross between a tart and a cookie and make the perfect after-dinner bite. They have the same crisp crust and gooey filling that you expect from pecan pie.
Read the original article on Martha Stewart.
