It's easy to have your muffins
look picture-perfect.

A basket of warm, fresh-baked muffins on the table is eminently satisfying. Here are a few pointers to make your muffins the best they can be:

• "Ledgers on the edges" are those unwanted rims around the edges of your muffins. To get nicely domed muffins without ledges, grease the muffin cups on the bottoms and only halfway up the sides.
• After adding the liquid mixture to the flour mixture, stir just until moistened. If you try to stir out all the lumps, your muffins will have peaks, tunnels, and a tough texture.
• Once the batter is mixed, put the muffins in the preheated oven right away. Batters that use baking powder and baking soda need to be baked immediately so the leavening power is not lost.
• Muffins are done when their tops are golden.
• To avoid soggy muffins, cool them in the baking pan only as long as directed in the recipe.