The nonstick one always gives me the most grief.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I post a picture and just a few words.
In fact, I don't even know why I'm keeping it.
This is why I generally don't like nonstick pans. You have to be sooo careful not scratch them, and despite all that gentle care, their nonstick performance goes kaput in a disgustingly short amount of time.
I'm gonna have to go buy me a second plain old muffin tin, I think. I've got a little bit of birthday money left over after my pot purchase, so....
(Not an affiliate link. It's just the place I bought my muffin tin. With birthday money. Readers, are we noticing a pattern here? Birthdays = kitchen gear for me.)
(P.S. Those are Banana Chocolate Chip muffins.)
That's the muffin tin I was given for Christmas! It really is great 🙂
Yup. And you can scrub it to your heart's content without worrying about scratching the finish.
Have you tried silicone bakeware? I can't give a recommendation since I don't own any yet, but I've heard they're nonstick and pretty easy to clean.
I did have some once upon a time, but they gave my bread sort of a weird plasticky taste. So I got rid of them!
I have a small muffin silicone tin. I like it but I don't make muffins in it. Rather I make mini meatloafs. I haven't noticed a difference in the taste in that regard. It might alter the muffins so maybe I won't try that.
Hi Kristin! I absolutely agree about the nonstick pans for baking! More meals have been ruined/caused rage than I can count while using them!
I received a bunch of these nonstick pans after I got married. After a while I thought I was losing it... None of my recipes were coming out the same! So one day by accident (okay laziness- I didn't want to wash one of the nonstick cookie sheet pans sitting in the sink) I used a older regular sheet pan to try my recipe out one more time before I threw the paper into the garbage... My cookies came out perfect! So perfect that I ate the whole tray! Other than going into a sugar coma and hating myself afterwards, I was so pleased!
Buy silicone muffin liners instead. You can get rid of your muffin pans altogether. I just put mine on a regular cookie sheet and they hold shape wonderfully. As a bonus, I don't even grease them and they are easy peasy to clean. They take almost no space in the kitchen either - I have 24 stacked in a regular drawer.
These are the ones I am vouching for: http://www.amazon.com/Le-Creuset-Silicone-6-Piece-Baking-Cup/dp/B000UGPJEQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403180525&sr=8-1&keywords=le+creuset+silicone+muffin+cups
The real benefit to nonstick muffin tins is that *usually* they brown better.
I know a lot of people who like the Gold finish pans from WS but they are so freaking expensive!
The Ikea ones are neat but a weird size so they need special papers if you're making cupcakes.
Bed Bath and Beyond has a nice Nordic Ware one for $18 and in the store you can use a 20% off coupon that they mail out weekly. It has a lid, appears to be heirloom quality (the pan, anyway) and it is made in the USA.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/39863-nordic-ware-muffin-pan-lid.html
I second the Nordicware items. I have their half sheet pan, 9X13 pan, and bread pans and LOVE them. The half sheet pan has never warped no matter how high of a temp I use. I'm planning on getting the muffin tins next.
Ooh, good to know! Thanks for the recommendation.
I actually always feel like the nonstick pan makes things brown TOO much. Like the bottoms and sides of my cloverleaf rolls will be super dark before the tops are at all nicely browned.
I love my nonstick muffin pan from USA pans. I make muffins nearly every week, and it's still going strong. I do not use any cooking spray, but I do wait about 5 minutes to take the muffins out - the steam helps them to release easily.
That's interesting - my nonstick muffin tins have been great, whereas my regular one is terrible. I have a Chicago metallic 12-cup muffin tin.
I feel like mine might be a Chicago metallic too. Hmm. Why is mine performing so poorly??
It's ok, I won't judge you. 🙂
You ought to take a look at the USA made pans from King Arthur's Flour. I purchased the loaf pan they recommend for gluten free bread and was so impressed with it that I used my birthday and Christmas money for a few years to get muffin pans, cookie sheets, and cake pans. They are truly amazing. Heavy metal pans that are not nonstick but I can totally forget to grease them and the stuff falls right out...even on the stuff I have been using for a few years. I LOVE these pans!
I just use the silicone baking cups (placed on a baking sheet). They never stick and are easy to clean. Plus they take up so much less space in the cupboard!
On your recommendation, I bought myself some Gold Touch bread tins, and also a set that contained a cookie sheet, jelly roll pan, muffin pan and two cake pans. I have been SO impressed, and so glad I got them. You should look into getting a Gold Touch muffin tin!
When my husband and I married twenty plus years ago, an elderly woman we knew gave us a whole bunch of vintage kitchen stuff. There was an old fashioned aluminum muffin tin in there, and it bakes muffins better than anything else I've tried. Lots of times you can find them kicking around in thrift stores--I've picked up a couple that way.
The two big issues I had with my nonstick pan (which I finally disposed of!) were that it was crazy hard to clean, and the muffins baked in it always came out too dark. Okay, I thought of a third issue--you aren't supposed to use non-stick spray with it, which made it more fussy, which I didn't like.
If I ever invest in a new muffin tin, I'll probably give the Nordicware version a whirl. Their baker's half sheet is my go-to baking sheet. I love, love, love how things bake up in it!
One more thing I thought of after reading the other comments....I know lots of people swear by the silicone baking products, but I had a muffin *tin?* (what do you call it when it's made of silicone?) given to me as a gift, and I could never get so I liked it. Maybe there was just a learning curve or something, but I never felt like it worked as good as what I already had. It's been years, and probably all silicone bakeware isn't created equal, but that was my take on it.
Yep, I didn't like the ones I had. They didn't hold up firmly, so whatever I baked had sort of a weird shape, and sometimes it gave my stuff a odd off flavor. I was not a fan!
This is my thought about the silicon bakeware as well.
I use inexpensive Wilton(?) muffin tins, greased with cooking spray, with great success. The spray will eventually leave a buildup (from the material used to make the grease sprayable) but while it's unsightly it's not actually a problem. I don't like muffin papers because you lose too much muffin to the paper.
Frugal tip: get rid of spray buildup by putting your tins in the oven when you run the oven-cleaning cycle.
The Le Creuset cups are fabulous. I've had other silicone stuff before and been unhappy, but everyone who comes to my house asks about the Le Creuset cups because they are so great. There are a lot of cheaper options out there, but I don't know the quality.
You have Williams Sonoma Goldtouch loaf pans, right? You might consider their muffin tin. I like mine. Is pricey but nice quality.
I agree, my plain muffin tin does a much better job time after time. I was baking muffins yesterday...banana with strawberries and blueberries. Yummy!
We actually like our nonstick muffin tin, but I can't remember where it came from. Mr. FP is the muffin maker in the family and it seems to be holding up OK even though he insists in using a butter knife to loosen the muffins after cooking. (In every good marriage, one must sometimes look the other way...)
Are those silicone cups (for muffins) expensive in the US? I had to save up for mine in South Africa, but once I had them I haven't regretted it one moment. This means that I can use all of my tins, not just the ones that don't give me grief. It also means we usually end up with like 300 cupcakes and/or muffins (technically should freeze them) but with 5 kids and the hubby they hardly ever make it to the freezer 😉
Until you buy yourself a nice muffin tin, you can still use the non-stick one, just use a cooking spray on it before each use. My non-stick pans only remained fully non-stick for a few uses, then I found I needed to use cooking spray every time.
I just have to say, when we were married we registered at William Sonoma. I have not regretted one item we have purchased from there over the past 11 1/2 years. We love food, and I love to cook. It made sense to get the best we could afford. I have the full set of All-Clad cooking pots, including the one you just purchased, and they are used a ton. And all look relatively new. (There are nominal marks and scratches - they are used a lot) I have the dish towels that, except for one, yes - ONE, look brand new. 11 years later. Were they expensive? Yep. Worth it? Yep. So it was funny, when I started reading this post, I was thinking "I should suggest the muffin tin that I love" And low and behold, it was the same one.
That's why I spent more and went with stainless for most of my baking pans. Some are 30 years old and still look brand new.
Me, too, April. I got rid (donated) all my aluminum and non-stick pans and went to stainless steel baking pans only. They are so sturdy and easy to clean. I've never regretted the decision.
Our muffin tins look alike! I have a nonstick one that I don't care for, but it works ok with muffin liners or non-stick spray. I have an air-bake muffin tin as well, and it works great. I do have to remove the nonstick muffin tin first and let the other bake longer.
I have a couple of silicone muffin/cupcake "tins"--I didn't have probelms with them making my food taste funny, but they smelled funny when I baked with them. So that has made me hesitant to get a Silpat for baking--have you had any experience with them? Those who have them, swear by them.
oops, I mean problems!
As a person who has been homemaking for over 50 years, might I suggest getting a stainless steel pan? I have purchased untold numbers of aluminium pans, both cheap and expensive, but I guarantee that you will have a stainless steel pan for the rest of your life and will probably hand it down to new generations of homemakers. I bought mine on Amazon from a company called "Fox Run". I wish I had done this years ago.
I had the same problem too when making muffins using nonstick pans but I don't have any problems with breads. It sounds funny but I put non-stick spray to my nonstick muffin pans.
I totally agree. Non-stick bake pans work in the short term.
My answer for pancakes and eggs are non stick frying pans used for nothing else. I even hide them away so no one uses them. I needed to do this after DH grilled teriyaki steak in my non-stick pancake pan. The sugar from the sauce burned the non stick right off. Scientists say we have an acceptable amount if Teflon in our system nowadays. Who knew?
Hi,
I know how much you love the gold bread pans that you bought from Williams Sonoma but have you ever checked out your local Tuesday Morning store for bakeware? The Tuesday Morning here in ND,sells the gold pans/bakeware made by David Burke Kitchen. They look exactly like the ones sold on the WS website but for a fraction of the WS cost. I bought the muffin tins,sheet pans and 9x9 pans and they are very heavy and wonderful quality for a very good price! 🙂
I have been slowly switching to Hartstone Pottery bakeware. It's made in Zanesville, Ohio. Pricey, but the best stuff I've ever used.
One of my favorite things about summer: ripe bananas!! Banana muffins sound amazing right now 🙂
I make these almost every weekend they're so good.
I make a lot of muffins to freeze for easy breakfasts, and getting them out of the pan has always been an issue for me. I just bought a silicon muffin tin and I'm very excited to try it out!
How do you get rid of pans? I thought of this the other day in reference to your new pot as well. I have a couple old pans in bad enough shape that I don't think anyone would want them. But I feel guilty just throwing them away... It seems like there should be a better way to dispose of them.
Well, I gave my old stock pot away on freecycle, so hopefully someone else is getting some use out of it now.
I also sometimes manage to find other uses for old kitchen equipment...as I mentioned in this post: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2013/03/repurposing-old-kitchen-items/, Mr. FG's old nonstick bachelor Dutch oven now holds our magnetic building toys.
Oh my gosh Ladies! Wms & Sonoma Gold Touch Bakeware is marvellous IF you simply follow the instructions. You're not supposed to grease them!!
Don't EVER grease or spray them and they will serve the purpose from day one. The minute you grease them up, the spray coats the protective ceramic and over time, everything you put into them will stick.
Have you ever noticed that brown coating that just doesn't wash off?? Thaat's baked on goop. Ugh ...
just use a cooking spray on it before each use. My non-stick pans only remained fully non-stick for a few uses, then I found I needed to use cooking spray every time.