Wait, That’s a Holiday? Feb. 20th: “National Muffin Day”

Growing up, munching on my grandma’s homemade sweets was always my favorite part of visiting her. While smells of savory pastas and soups remind me of days spent in her kitchen, I’ve cherished the enticing smells of her sweet pastries the most — especially the smell of fresh muffins.

After finding out National Muffin Day was coming up on Feb. 20, I decided to flood my house with the warm and sweet smell that comes from freshly baked muffins, just like my grandma.

I found two muffin mixes; the Betty Crocker wild blueberry muffin and quick bread mix and the lemon poppyseed muffin and quick bread mix topped with a lemon glaze that I thought my family and I could enjoy while bringing back that comfort of grandma’s food.

Blueberry Muffins:

When I started the muffins, I made sure to set aside a good hour to make both batches so that I’d have enough time. But I was surprised to find out how quick and easy it was to make the batter. After mixing a few simple ingredients — water, oils, eggs and the muffin mix — I added the fresh blueberries that came in a can in the box.

I baked the muffins for the recommended 20 minutes, checking periodically to make sure they weren’t too soft or overcooked.

After they were done, my family was drawn to the kitchen to see where the appetizing smell was coming from. My dad came back from running errands and almost immediately acknowledged the smell escaping from the oven. 

The muffin tasted sweet and had that same distinct luscious taste as the ones I’ve had before. The muffins were a little thicker and less soft than I usually like, but were still easily enjoyable. For a $3 box I got at the grocery store, the muffins were impressive and surprised me with their simple yet delicious taste.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Similar to the blueberry muffins, the lemon poppyseed recipe was simple, with the same ingredients but requiring less baking time. They turned out to be my favorite of the two.

I’ve always loved lemon breads, muffins, cakes and other lemon-flavored desserts but they’ve never beat anything blueberry for me.

Maybe it was the sweet lemon glaze spread over the top, or the decreased baking time so they were overcooked on the top, but these muffins were some of the best I’ve had in a while. 

The muffin itself was the perfect fluffy, dense and moist consistency and had just the right amount of sweetness. The additional glaze gave the hint of sweetness it needed to be even more delicious. I was even able to enjoy them the morning after, without a stale consistency, which I found later with the blueberry muffins. These muffins kept me and my family coming back for more.

In total, there were two dozen tasty muffins that we were left to enjoy throughout the week. Overall these muffins were a perfect pick and gave me that happy feeling I needed to successfully celebrate National Muffin Day.