Do You Know the Muffin Pan?: 100 Fun, Easy-to-Make Muffin Pan Meals

by Amy Fazio

Amy Fazio’s debut book, Do You Know the Muffin Pan, is a collection of creative, easy-to-make recipes using that tried-and-true kitchen the muffin pan. No longer just for muffins and cupcakes, the muffin pan is great for creating crowd-pleasing appetizers, delicious side dishes, and even perfectly portion-controlled dinners.Some fan favorite recipes • Eggs Benedict casserole cups• Salami boats with antipasto salad• Mini fish tacos with creamy jalapeño sauce• Chicken enchilada stacks• Strawberry pretzel cheesecake bitesThis cookbook will showcase over one hundred ways to cook and create in the muffin pan. Many of the recipes include notes on cooking in different-size pans, tips for freezing, and instructions on substituting a variety of ingredients to satisfy even the pickiest eaters.Whether you already love your muffin pan or plan on dusting off an old one, Do You Know the Muffin Pan is sure to become a family favorite.Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Good Books and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of cookbooks, including books on juicing, grilling, baking, frying, home brewing and winemaking, slow cookers, and cast iron cooking. We’ve been successful with books on gluten-free cooking, vegetarian and vegan cooking, paleo, raw foods, and more. Our list includes French cooking, Swedish cooking, Austrian and German cooking, Cajun cooking, as well as books on jerky, canning and preserving, peanut butter, meatballs, oil and vinegar, bone broth, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Reference, Food, Foodie

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2014

Reviews

[Chinchilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of pleasant surprises! I like how simple and appetizing most recipes look. Honestly, everything looks so delicious in its miniaturized form. Another bonus point from me is that Fazio gives readers the option of using store-bought ingredients or making things from scratch. She also encourages people to utilize leftovers by providing possible variations to her recipes. There are quite a few egg-based recipes and child-friendly ones. Of course, muffin-sized foods are also great for meal prep or as an quick grab-and-go option for packing lunches. It's a 4-star book for me. I might have to buy the book at some point.

I think I marked over 2/3 of the recipes as interesting in this book. Here is the list of them:

Easy Meaty Breakfast Pizza Bites
Mini Brie and Jam Pretzel Buns
Chilaquiles Casserole Cups
Croque Madame in a Croissant Nest
Egg White & Turkey Bacon Cups
Eggs Benedict Casserole Cups
Huevos Rancheros in Homemade Corn Tortillas Cups
Mini Italian Breakfast Pie
Lil' Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread Pudding
Butternut Squash Caramelized Onion Mini Quiche
Banana-Nut Monkey Bread Muffins
Breakfast Polenta Cups
Egg Muffins
Mini Carne Asada Frittatas with Sweet Potato Crust
Wild Mushroom Leak and Goat Cheese Eggs in Prosciutto Baskets
Dutch Baby Bowls with Country Sausage
My Cheddar Apple Sausage Biscuits
Southwest Eggroll Bundles with Chipotle Cream Sauce
Creamy Chicken Cordon Bleu Bundles
Edamame Walnut Blossoms
French Onion Soup Dumplings
Irish Nacho Stacks
Roasted Tomato Tarts with Whipped Feta and Herb Oil
Mini Spanikopita
Apricot Brie Tarts with Chipotle Honey Almonds
Chicken Parmesan Cracker Cups
Blat Chicken Salad in Wonton Cups
Itty Bitty Lobster Rolls
Mini Corn and Crab Cakes
Avocado and Bean Salsa in Tortilla Cups
Brown Butter Sage Sweet Potato Puffs with Goat Cheese and Roasted Grapes
Crispy Cheesy Potato Cups
Loaded Mashed Potato Puffs
Muffin Pan Latkes with Cranberry-apple Compote
Spicy Quinoa Bites
Mini Cheesy Ranch Broccoli Rice Bake
Garlic Shrimp and Chive Muffins
Cheesy Herb Popovers
Sausage and Mushroom Stuffin' Muffins
Belly Up to the Mini Mac and Cheese Bar
BBQ Chicken Pizza Cups
Individual Chicken Alfredo Lasagna
Chicken Marsala Pot Pie
King Ranch Casserole Cups
Spicy Thai Peanut Chicken Rolls with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Mini Fish Tacos
Chocolate Banana Cream Pudding Cups
Strawberry Chocolate Hazelnut Pull-apart Muffins
Bunuelo Cups with Mint Strawberry Salsa
Tiramisu Pudding in Chocolate Cups
Caramel Filled Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Buns

[Gillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

We tried the Chilaquiles Cassorole cups and the mini burek. Both recipes were delicious but would be better not in a muffin pan. Both recipes also included errors. The chilaquiles had garlic cloves in the recipes but she never tells you when to add them. The burek also had garlic cloves and seasoning in the recipe but not in the instructions. The instructions were also very confusing for the burek as someone who has never made or had them.

This books is a cute idea with some creative recipes but I'd recommend making muffins in your muffin pan.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

We enjoyed an appetizer of sweet-chili shrimp in tiny pastry cups at a local Thai restaurant. I came home and reproduced the dish by lining mini muffin tins with wonton wrappers painted with peanut oil and a filling of shrimp, minced green onion tops and Mae Ploy sauce. I am in favour of any technique which allows one to turn a uni-tasker (a kitchen implement or device normally used in only one way) into a versatile piece of culinary equipment. Thus I was attracted to Amy Fazio's book on clever and resourceful ways to use muffin tins, Unfortunately, the book is filled with recipes otherwise most likely found in those magazines featured at the end of the check-out line at the grocer's with articles like "How to Lose the Cellulite in Your Thighs" and "Video Games May Cause Your Teen's ADHD." One tip-off is the frequent use of prepared products in the recipes, e.g. a tube of chilled biscuit dough, refrigerated pie crusts, Velveeta cheese, and frozen spinach. Nonetheless there are some good ideas in this book: Dutch Baby Bowls with Country Sausage for breakfast; Empadinha de Pollo (in the name of which she combines the Portuguese word for the pastry envelope with the Spanish word for chicken); Mini Burek; and Apple Pie Roses with Cheddar Cheese Crust. The Burek recipe is illustrative. Its inspiration is of Eastern European, Balkan origin. She prescribes ground beef or ground turkey. I recommend a mixture of ground beef, ground pork and ground lamb. I would also add a bit of ground allspice to the meat mixture before cooking it. I would also top the finished dish with yoghurt rather than sour cream. There is likely nothing in this book which the apt reader/cook could not figure out in the kitchen when presented with the necessity, e.g. to turn a standard entree or dessert into a portable small-serving version.

[Reading For Funs · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, the hardest thing about working long night shifts was finding the motivation to cook my "breakfast" before heading into work. Often I found myself having to eat heavy dinner meals that would leave me tired and weighed down right before beginning my shift. I bought Do You Know the Muffin Pan in hopes that it would offer me some more options for breakfast or light meals that I could make ahead of time and bring to work. This cookbook did just that and more. Do You Know The Muffin Pan introduced me to the fabulous world of muffin pan meals with delicious recipes and educational tidbits. I absolutely love and appreciate this cookbook, and it has definitely made my life far easier.

My favorite recipes are the Huevos Rancheros in Homemade Corn Tortillas Cups and Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cakes. I love making these on the weekend before freezing them and grabbing one before I leave the house for work.

[Bunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The typos.

THE TYPOS.

And I didn't even read all of the recipes! Just reading the ones that got me super interested, I started getting the eye twitch.

All that aside, this cookbook really is super cool. It was on a display at my local library, I grabbed it right before Thanksgiving and let it sit for over a month. There are a lot of insanely clever recipes in here, though I think the breakfast suggestions had the most recipes that I would like to try.

There's also a recipe for jello shots, which I am terribly amused by.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

September 2019;

Pretty short and to the point, this little delight is about all the way you can use your muffin pans wasting away at home. I bought this on a kindle sale and was not disappointed in the slightest. It has recipes in all sorts of dishes and I can't wait to try any number of them.

[Julie Lentini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too Many Ingredients & Time

Some good recipes but not the time saver I was hoping for. Hoping for a recipe book for working ppl with fewer ingredients & quick time savers. Hoping that I can make some of the recipes ahead of time for entertaining, like Thanksgiving.

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun idea, some great sounding recipes.

[Millie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good fun way to cook tasty bites.

Interesting ideas, very tasty and mainly easy.
Many of the recipes would be very good for picnics or parties. Savoury and sweet recipes.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these recipes.

[eveltrain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the library so many times, I got it for Christmas.

I love this book. It offers a variety of recipes. You can swap ingredients and vegetable-ify meat dishes.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy appetizer to serve big crowds. Excited to try the Mini Spanakopita, Crispy Cheesy Potato Cups, and the Turtle Brownie Bite recipes.

[Stacy Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cookbook Club at my local library had this as the September cookbook. Fantastic recipes.

[Liz Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this cover to cover and really enjoyed it. Everything is made in a muffin pan: mini, regular or jumbo. There are appetizers, deserts, sides, and entrees. Some are done easily and some require you to make your own tortillas or mini pretzel buns. Random recipes are Apple Pie Roses with a Cheddar Cheese Crust, Butternut Squash Caramelized Onion Mini Quiche, Chicken Marsala Pot Pie,
and Citrus Shrimp Taco Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing. As soon as I get over the flu, I'm going to try one of these. They looked great for a party or for the two of us to have and to freeze.

[Cavak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a book for vegans or people who are lactose intolerant. Almost every recipe uses some form of eggs, sausage, or dairy. But it's a cute and short read with happy tributes to her family. Nice addition for tiny freezable treats.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

did I read every recipe word for word? No, but what I did read & bookmark sounds delicious. I can't wait to try some recipes!

[Rene Crowder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

I like the idea of being able to make these dishes in the small size and freeze them. This is great for cooking for two

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book

Full of wonderful ideas. I look forward to making many of them in the future for parties and just to have with dinner.

[Mark]

Skimmed it and found quite a few things I would like to try and some others would be good for COHO meetings and group brew and such.

[Dani]

Everything in this book is cooked in a muffin pan, whether it be mini muffins, regular muffins, or even the jumbo/Texas-sized muffins. However, it's not only your typical sweet muffins. Even those familiar ones have a creative twist, such as blueberry French toast muffins and apple cinnamon oatmeal cakes. There are muffin chapters for every part of a meal: breakfast, appetizers, side dishes, main dishes, dessert (and even a recipe for jello shots near the end).

The focus of this book is being able to make food that is easy to munch, share, and/or transport because of its muffin shape and structure. It also pushes the reader to use up leftovers in new ways to create something different yet delicious. The recipes aim to be easy but tasty, and the author is unafraid to use pre-made biscuit dough, puff pastry, wonton wrappers, French bread, a can of baked beans, frozen shredded hashbrowns, etc. As the author says in this book, the recipes are largely "just how I like it: fancy-sounding but easy to make."

There are many kinds of flavors and styles in the recipes, such as eggs benedict casserole cups, southwest eggroll bundles with chipotle cream sauce, caprese polenta bites, cheesy herb popovers, latkes with compote, and more. There's even a recipe for mac 'n' cheese and tips on hosting your own mac 'n' cheese bar. Note that if you have particular dietary restrictions most recipes in this book have at least one of these: eggs, meat, flour/bread products, or milk/butter/cheese/dairy.

This cookbook leans more toward easy and casual, and some recipes are even specifically noted as "kid-friendly". Additionally, because of this book's beginning as a blog, it is unsurprising that some recipes have short anecdotes before them. Luckily these are kept to a minimum and are a single paragraph at most. The biggest problem I saw with the book was that the editor didn't seem to do a final check: some notes even say "see page TK"-- "TK" is an editing symbol that means for you to come back and change something!

Besides the lack of final editing, this is a pretty good cookbook for someone who wants to make food that travels well, makes for great party-sharing munchies, or serves as portion-controlled and easily frozen meals and snacks.