Ice Cream Muffins

Just two core ingredients stand between you and a batch of fluffy, cake-like muffins. Softened ice cream replaces the butter, sugar, and milk you’d normally need, so the batter comes together in minutes with almost no measuring.

The trick is mixing gently. Stir just until the flour disappears into the melted ice cream. Overmixing develops gluten and turns these from tender to tough. You want lumpy batter here.

Whatever ice cream flavor you grab from the freezer becomes the flavor of the muffin. Strawberry, chocolate chip cookie dough, mint chocolate chip: they all work and each one bakes up with a slightly different texture and sweetness.

Pro Tips

• Let the ice cream soften completely at room temperature before mixing. If it’s still icy, the flour won’t incorporate evenly and you’ll get pockets of dry mix.
• Grease the muffin tin well or use paper liners. These stick more than traditional muffins because of the sugar content from the ice cream.
• Fill cups three-quarters full, not higher. They rise significantly in the hot oven.

Variations

• Fold in chocolate chips and chopped nuts for a loaded version.
• Use cookies and cream ice cream and top with crushed Oreos before baking.
• Try coffee-flavored ice cream and add a cinnamon-sugar sprinkle for a breakfast-friendly twist.