The Easy Way to Make Muffins That Look Like They Came From a Fancy Bakery

Bakery interior

A bowl of cereal is fine and cinnamon toast is even better, but start your day with a muffin for a better-than-average muffin. The tender treats are like having cupcakes for breakfast—and what's more fun than that? While you might want to go the Costco muffin route during the week, it's fun to make your own muffins when you have a little more time.

Muffins are easy to make, whether you go the scratch route or use a boxed mix. Paper muffin liners are often a go-to for lining muffin tins, but when you want to take things up a notch—maybe for a weekend brunch or Easter—you can make fancy-looking muffin liners using a piece of parchment paper and a cup. (This is also a good trick to have up your sleeve if you run out of muffin liners and don't want to run to the store.)

This simple trick will make your muffins look like they came from a fancy bakery and it's really easy to do, even if you're not crafty at all. Here's how to make muffin liners out of parchment paper.

How to Make Muffin Liners Out of Parchment Paper

Use this easy step-by-step guide to upgrade your muffins (or cupcakes) with pretty parchment paper liners.

1. Gather your supplies.
It's a simple list: parchment paper, scissors and a glass (or a small can) that fits into the wells of the muffin tin.

2. Cut the parchment.For an average-size muffin tin, a 5-inch square of parchment is a good size. Making jumbo muffins? Go for a 6-inch square. And you can absolutely eyeball this—no need for a ruler. As long as the piece of parchment is big enough to cover the muffin tin, you're good. Once you cut a piece to the size you like, use that as a template for the rest of the pieces.

3. Shape the parchment.
Now it's origami time! Place one parchment square on top of the cup and shape it around the bottom of the glass. You can be as precise (or not) as you like. Again, this is a very forgiving craft, so trust the process.

4. Transfer the muffin liners to the muffin tin.
Once you shape the liner, move it on over to the muffin tin. If the liner is sitting strangely in the tin, you can place the glass in the tin to help sort out the shape.

5. Add your batter.
Fill each muffin liner with batter. Fill each muffin cup about three-quarters of the way full.

6. Bake and show off your craftiness!
Bake the muffins until they're beautifully browned, let them cool on a cooling rack, then arrange them on a platter to show off your handiwork.

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