National Muffin Day

On February 20th, National Muffin Day serves up a delicious celebration packed with flavor and options, too!

Bakeries offer these single-serving quick bread in several sizes. From mini bite-sized muffins and jumbo ones to the favored muffin tops, they also offer a varied nutritional value. Depending on the ingredients, a muffin can be high in fat and calories. However, substituting whole grains, changing a few other ingredients, and limiting the serving size can increase the nutritional quality of a muffin.

Baking with fresh fruits and berries brings brightness to muffins. It also keeps them from becoming dry as they bake. One of America’s favorite muffins is the blueberry muffin. Another way to add flavor and texture is by mixing in nuts and oats. Bakers often have bits of chocolate and bananas that need to be used. Mixing them into the muffin batter will keep your muffin eaters happy in the morning, too!

National Muffin Day History

Muffin Day might be a big celebration today, but the concept has humble beginnings. It all started with the work of tech company employee Jacob Kaufman. Every morning on the way to work, Kaufman would take a bag of muffins with him and hand them out to homeless people in the city in which he worked. For years, Kaufman was a source of giving and inspiration to the less fortunate than him, providing them with delicious food that they could enjoy. For many, it was the highlight of their day.

Kaufman continued doing his work under the radar until blogger Julia Levy picked up on his story. She reported what he was doing on a blog post about ordinary philanthropists. After talking with one another, the duo soon realized that they could use the appeal of the muffin to help more homeless people living in other places. The result of the conversation was the inception of Muffin Day, an opportunity for people to bake muffins and raise money for homeless shelters. Muffins would go from something that served consumers to a vehicle for helping less fortunate people on the streets.

The need for Muffin Day is enormous. There are thousands of people living on the streets who need warm, delicious muffins made with love.

WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL MUFFIN DAY

They come in so many varieties

There’s English muffins, Portuguese muffins, American muffins, and so many hybrids (cruffins, duffins, muffin tops, and a whole lot more). If you don’t love one of them, you’re bound to find another that you do! And don’t even get us started on flavors: blueberry, cranberry orange, bran, chocolate chip. There’s a muffin for everyone.
They’re easy to make

Elaborate cakes and pastries are involved affairs, Muffins, though, are a type of quick bread, and as that title suggests, they don’t take long to cook. Muffins are so easy to make you can whip up a batch on a weekday before work or as a friend is on their way over to gab. Have a buddy in the doldrums? Make some muffins and leave them on their doorstep, a sure thing for bringing smiles.
They’re fun to eat

Muffins are kind of like Oreos — everyone has their own way of eating them. Do you go for the stump first, or dive straight into the top? Do you split the too and spread butter or jam between and smush the concoction into a muffin sandwich? Do you pick off pieces for dainty bites, or just stuff the whole thing in your mouth?