Incredible Hacks To Use Muffin Trays In Every Way
How often do you make muffins, really? Unless you're a muffin fiend, you're probably not pulling that muffin tin out of your pantry more than once a month. Don't let that muffin tin go to waste, though. There are ways you can use this baking device that doesn't involve muffins at all.
Some of these hacks involve food, and some of them aren't food-related at all. Keep reading for a slew of creative ideas to help you put your muffin tray to good use. We all love a blueberry muffin, but what about some delicious pizza cups or hard-boiled eggs? All that is coming up plus so much more.
Prop Up Your Stuffed Peppers
We don't know about you, but around these parts, there aren't many foods we love more than stuffed peppers. The only problem is they can be a real pain to make. The good news is now you can eat them every day by making them in muffin trays!
Cut the tops off your peppers, clean out the insides, then put one in each cup and fill it to your heart's desire. You can do the classic meat, rice, and cheese; or you can try something new. Might we recommend fajita style!
A Condiment Station
This is one may look a little odd to you, but we tried it and couldn't believe how easy it made our lives. It's a great way to create a mixed dipping tray for pretzels or french fries. If you're really into it, go ahead and dip your hot dog too!
Okay, maybe don't go that far. Still, if you have kids and they need ketchup for mustard to dip their chicken tenders in, this trick will keep the mess contained to one dish! You can thank us later.
Carry Your Snacks
Another great way to keep the kids from causing a mess is to use your muffin tray as a snack carrier. Put your perfectly portioned snacks in the tray, then place the try in a carrier. It's a perfect solution for snack time!
If you want to get extra crafty, go ahead and make your own carrier. Take a board and glue some rope to create handles. Or do whatever you can come up with to create the absolutely perfect snack tray!
Have A Mini Taco Bowl Fiesta
Your muffin tin can perform double duty if you just flip it upside down. The spaces in between the cups as perfect shapers for mini taco bowls! Just stick some flour tortillas in between the cups, place the whole tray in the oven, and wait for the tortillas to get crispy and brown.
You can fill your taco bowls with all of your favorite taco fillings such as beans, ground beef, salsa, guacamole, cheese, and sour cream.
Store Your Nails And Screws
Are you a manly man who can't stay out of the shed on weekends working on projects? Using a muffin tray to keep your nails and screws from flying all over the place will leave you extra time to finish your next great project!
Our favorite thing about this trick is that you know how much of everything you have before you get to work. Do you really want to be one screw away from finishing only to find out you have no screws? Check before you sit down to see if you need to run to Home Depot first!
Cookie Cups Are The Best Kind Of Cups
Ice cream in a bowl or a cup is already pretty delicious. Let's face it. It's ice cream. You can't really go wrong with ice cream. You can, however, make ice cream even better. What's better than ice cream in a regular cup? Ice cream in a cookie cup, of course.
Just make your favorite batch of cookie dough and form it over the back of the each tray. Bake it in the oven and enjoy the perfect dessert cup.
The Easy Way To Dye Easter Eggs
This is the best way for you to dye a ton of Easter eggs all at the same time. Take a few muffin trays and fill each cup with a different color. Use delicious hard boiled eggs and dip them in the colors you want.
Trying to make each egg more than one color? Put one tray aside with extra colors for extra decorative eggs. The only question left to ask now is where are you going to hide them all?
A perfect Planting Grid
Why spend money on a fancy planting grid when you can just grab the muffin tray from your cupboard? Heck, if you don't make muffins and have been trying to find a use for it for years, we just solved your problem.
Take the tray outside to your yard with lightly packed dirt. Press the tray into the dirt to create perfectly spaced indentations for whatever herbs you want in your garden. Hey, with how easy it was to make the grid, go ahead and plant every herb! You've earned it!
No More Broken Crayons
If you have kids, you know that they go through crayons pretty quickly. You end up shoving all of their crayons into one big box, and a lot of those crayons get broken or used down to a nub. You shouldn't throw away all those bits of broken crayon, though.
Stick them in a muffin tray and then pop the whole thing in the oven until the wax melts. You'll end up with some cool muffin-shaped crayons. Kids will love getting involved in this craft. You can also mix different colored crayons together in one well to create a cool tie-dye effect.
Make Fancy Ice Cubes
These lemon-infused ice cubes are perfect for a summer get-together. These are particularly great for large pitchers of punch or lemonade or even plain old water. Just pour some water into a muffin tray and add some thin slices of lemon. If you're feeling fancy, you could also add some sprigs of mint to the party.
Pop the whole tray in the freezer and take it out a few hours later. Then you can add these "cubes" to whatever drinks you'd like.
Make Your Own Mini Pies
Pies are absolutely delicious. They're so delicious, in fact, that sometimes it's impossible to settle on just one flavor. How are we supposed to choose between apple pie, blueberry pie, and pumpkin pie? They're all so good. Don't even get me started on cherry.
If you make a bunch of mini pies, you don't have to pick just one flavor. Or, if you just really like strawberry rhubarb, you can make them all strawberry rhubarb. Nobody's judging you. Take two Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts, 4 cups of canned pie filling (or make your own) and 1 egg. Fit the dough into the muffin tins like a mini pie crust, add your filling, and lay down the top crust. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350°F.
Hard Boil 12 Eggs At Once
Who says you need water to hard boil eggs? If you don't want to wait for water to boil, or you're hosting a big brunch and you need to boil twelve eggs at once, we have the perfect hack for you.
Just place your eggs into a muffin tin and preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Place the tin in the oven for 30 minutes, and when the 30 minutes are up, you should have perfectly hard-boiled eggs.
A Puppy Puzzle
This idea is too cute not to share. You can even use a muffin tin to create a puzzle for your dog. (Seriously, the possibilities with these muffin trays seem endless!) You'll need enough tennis balls to cover each muffin cup in the pan.
Randomly select one or more cups to place a treat in for your dog to find. Then cover it with a tennis ball. Set the tray down in front of them and watch as they go crazy trying to find the treat!
Cup-Shaped Corn Dogs
You've heard of corn muffins, and you've heard of corn dogs, but what about a corn dog muffin? These snacks will make great appetizers for your next summer party, barbecue or get-together.
Just pick a cornbread recipe that sounds good to you, pour your batter into a greased muffin tin, slice up some sausages or hot dogs, and stick a piece of hot dog into each muffin. Bake them as per your cornbread recipe's directions.
Bite-Sized Breakfast
People say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but when it's a weekday and you have to get yourself out the door in a hurry, you don't have time to scrabble eggs and fry bacon. That's where this hack comes into play. You can make these muffin shaped breakfast bites the night before.
Just add your favorite omelet ingredients to some whipped up eggs. Place the picture into a muffin tin and bake the whole thing until it's set. Store your breakfast bites in the fridge, and then all you have to do is grab and go!
Mashed Potato Mountains
Everyone knows that the best part of mashed potatoes is the crispy bit on the top, but when you make one big pot of mashed potatoes, you just get one crispy layer. If you split that batch of mashed potatoes into a whole bunch of muffin tins, you get so much more crispy goodness!
This hack is also a great way to repurpose leftover mashed potatoes. Spray down the muffin cups then scoop the mashed potatoes into each. Preheat the oven to 350°F, then bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes. You can also add cheese and fresh chives.
Perfectly Portioned Smoothies
Smoothies make a great healthy breakfast or after gym snack. This muffin tin smoothie hack will help you save time and money. By making a big batch of smoothies and freezing them in muffin tins, you have a ready-to-go smoothie whenever you feel like having one.
Also, if you make your smoothie when your fruits and veggies are the freshest, you won't forget about your produce in the back of your fridge only to realize that it's gone bad two weeks later.
Organized Snacks
Do have trouble over-snacking? Maybe you never know how much of every snack to put out at a party? Try this; use your muffin tin to perfectly portion your snacks. Each cup gets filled with one thing. You can be as healthy or as devilishly decadent as you want.
This trick is great for anyone putting snacks out for the family during the holiday season. You can even decorate your tray to make it more festive. Put out the perfect amount of cheese and crackers. Want some grapes as well? There's a cup for that!
Ice Cream At The Ready
Thinking this one sounds odd? Trust us, it will save you a ton of time at the holidays when all the kiddos ask for ice cream. By pre-scooping ice cream into muffin trays, you save yourself the mess of pulling cartons out of the freezer that eventually melts and gets sticky goop everywhere.
Just make sure you pre-scoop plenty of flavors. Don't assume every kid wants chocolate or vanilla. Mix it up with some mint chocolate chip or spice it up with some Neapolitan. Maybe avoid coffee ice cream, though; kids already have enough energy without caffeine!
Organize Your Drawers
Tired of opening your drawers and digging through a giant mess to find one paperclip? Use your extra muffin tray as a drawer organizer to keep your blood pressure low. Each cup holds just the amount of supplies you need. Now you'll never lose another thumbtack.
This is the perfect hack for anyone who works from a home office. Keep your paperclips, staples, thumbtacks, and other little knick-knacks nice and neat. Using this trick will save you a ton of time to catch up on other, more important things.
Lots Of Little Plants
Flowers are the perfect center piece to any living room. If smaller flowers are your thing, use a muffin try to plant them in. It's a perfectly modern and rustic look to turn your living space in to the perfect hosting space.
To make this trick work, take your tray and flip it over. Screw tiny holes in the bottom of each cup to help with circulation. Then pack each cup with dirt and seeds and don't forget to water! With this incredible hack all you need to remember to do is water, everything else is taken care of!
Make Your Own Bacon Bowls
Who needs mini taco bowls when you can go ahead and make bacon bowls!? There is no better vessel to eat food from than one made from the perfect food itself. Of course, this trick only works if you like your bacon crispy. If you like it floppy your should probably reassess your life.
Using a bacon bowl makes for the perfect breakfast bowl too! Crack an egg with some cheese in the bowl and start your day out the right way. Add whatever you want to the bowl, as well; peppers, onions, and maybe even crushed bacon bits. Why not?
Gorgeous Wall Art
Thought we'd run out of good ideas by now? Not at all. Take your muffin tray and turn it into beautiful wall art! Let's be honest, do you really use your muffin try anyway? Paint whatever picture you want in the bottom of the tray, then stick it on the wall.
Your friends won't believe their eyes when they see your new decorations. They'll be so impressed you'll have to show them exactly what you did. Do we smell a hot new trend starting?
Use It To Teach Your Kids
Here's something you probably didn't realize you could with a muffin tray and scrabble pieces. Combine the two to help teach your kids the alphabet. Put each collection of letters in their own cup so your young one can learn the letters in a fun new way.
This can be used for more than just the alphabet. You can create tons of unique lesson plans using the muffin tray as an educational organizer. The possibilities are endless. What are you going to do?
A Perfectly Good Candle Holder
Did you ever realize that muffin trays make the world's best candle holders? If you have too many tea candles to know what to do with, put them in a tray and make your house smell amazing. Like some other hacks here, it also adds a rustic look to your dining room.
The only problem we see with this particular hack is that once you start using them as candle holders, you can't stop until the candle is melted down entirely. Then you have to clean wax out of the tray. We think the hassle is worth it, though.
Puffy Pancakes
Why didn't we think of this? Eat pancakes in an entirely new way with this hack. Instead of flipping pancakes on the stove, bake them into small pancake bites in the oven. Begin by whipping up the pancake mix as you usually would in a bowl. Don't forget to grab and grease that muffin tin!
Distribute the pancake mix between the muffin cups, keeping in mind that they'll rise into fluffy mini pancakes. At 400°F, they should take about 8-10 minutes. Serve on a plate with a pour of syrup.
Little Cinnamon Buns
You can also use a muffin tin to create perfect little cinnamon buns for everyone to enjoy. This is a good hack if you're trying to stick to smaller portions. You can get a taste of the sweet cinnamon goodness without subjecting yourself to 1,000 calories.
The main difference with this recipe than the others using the muffin tin is that you'll need to add clippings of wax paper into each of the muffin cups to prevent them from sticking.
You've Heard Of Pizza Bagels, But What About Pizza Muffins?
You can't go wrong with pizza. It's worth repeating. You can't go wrong with pizza. This hack allows you to enjoy one of the best foods on earth in a new form. Spray down a muffin tray and preheat the oven to 425°F. Take a can of buttermilk biscuit dough and, separate the biscuits and flatten them. Press each into a muffin cup.
Top each of them off with 1 tablespoon of pizza sauce, mini pepperonis and 1 tablespoon of mozzarella. Bake them for 10 minutes, keeping an eye on them until they have a light brown top. Let them cool then let them eat pizza muffins!
Delectable PB & J Muffins
Peanut butter and jelly muffins are a delicious and decadent treat for everyone. You'll need to pick up the muffin ingredients, including unsalted butter, flour, baking soda, salt, egg, brown sugar, vanilla extract, milk and greek yogurt. You'll also need peanut butter and jelly, of course.
Microwave the butter and peanut butter together for just 30 seconds to get the mixture started, then add in the remainder of the ingredients and whip together. Be sure to add cupcake liners to the muffin tin for this one, and pour the batter among the muffin cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes at 350°F.
Chicken and Cheese Pies For One
Even if you have a hard core sweet tooth, you still need to indulge in the savory sometimes. This chicken and cheese mini pie recipe is tasty and hearty in every bite. Combine shredded rotisserie chicken, shredded pepper jack cheese, peppercorn ranch dressing, cilantro, and diced green chiles.
In a separate bowl, whisk together Bisquick original baking mix, milk and eggs. Pour this mixture into the greased muffin cups first, then spoon the chicken mixture on top. You'll bake this at 375°F for 30 minutes.
Mini BBQ Chicken Pizzas
Keep the pizza recipes coming! If you want to take it a step beyond pepperoni pizza, try bbq chicken. You'll need frozen pizza crust, shredded rotisserie chicken, chopped red onions, shredded mozzarella, BBQ sauce and some cilantro for garnish.
Roll out the pizza crust and mold into each of the muffin cups. Spoon in the bbq sauce and spread around the inside of the cup you made. Add in some chicken and onions, and top with cheese. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 450°F. Once they're lightly browned, take them out and top with cilantro.
Who Doesn't Love A Succulent?
Use an old muffin tray to help out in the garden with this hack. Succulents are drought-tolerant plants that can add texture and color to any corner of your garden or in a window. They're also unique in that you can snap off a piece and propagate it to create more.
Succulents make great gifts, so use a muffin tray to get them organized and separated out. You'll be glad you have them on hand next time you need a small gift for a friend.
Store Your School Supplies
When things are all different shapes and sizes, it can be hard to get organized. Save yourself a messy drawer by placing all its contents into plastic see-thru cups. Using cups that you get see-through allows for even easier access to what you need.
Place the cups in muffin trays to easily carry everything to a table. This a great hack for elementary school teachers to save time and keep everything organized. You can easily take these away and store them when they're done.
Make Your Own Watercolors
If you have some creative kids in the house, you can teach them how to make their own watercolors. If they already take pride in their artwork, you can show them how to make their work even more original with custom colors!
Combine 4 tbsp baking soda, 2 tsp white vinegar, 1/2 tsp light corn syrup and 2 tbsp cornstarch. Mix it together very, very well, then divide among the muffin cups. Next, you'll need 6 drops of your choice of food coloring. Drop them in and mix, mix, mix. Finally, stick it in the fridge for 24 hours. You'll have custom colors tomorrow!
Change The Shape Of Your Cupcakes
Heart-shaped cupcakes sound like a cute idea, but very difficult to achieve, right? Wrong. This is one hack that couldn't be easier. All you'll need is some marbles! After you distribute the baking cups throughout the muffin tin, grab the marbles.
Place one marble in each of the cups, so that it sits against the paper cup, causing it to sink in, like the shape of a heart. Just take care when you're scooping in the mix.
How To Store Paint
Here's another hack to storing craft supplies. Keep your paints fresh and organized by using plastic sauce containers. Pour the contents into a sauce container and stick a lid on it. You can then place them in the muffin tray cups to keep them sitting upright and prevent spilling.
Having them all together on one tray makes it easy to stack them up, set them on a table, or take them away. And you'll save yourself from a messy paint splattered table, too!
Mini Brownies
If you've ever been tempted by those brownies sitting behind the glass at the coffee shop, this hack is for you! Create your own mini brownie bites at home. This is great hack not only because they look adorable and create smaller portions, but because they're less messy.
Unless you're a seasoned pro, it can be quite difficult to cut and lift the square-shaped brownies out of the tray. This hack allows you to easily pop them out of the muffin cups to keep their shape. Genius.
Fancy Tarts
Not all recipes take a lot of ingredients and work to make it look fancy. This recipe will make you look like a skilled baker to your friends and family, even if you don't happen to be one. Take frozen pie crust and flatten it out.
Cut them into portions and mold them around the muffin cups. Then fill them with your favorite jelly and bake them until they're golden brown- around 15-20 minutes at 375°F.
Take It Outside
Picnics are sweet, that is, until your food and drinks are spilled all over your cozy blanket. Grass isn't known for being a stable surface, so this hack is genius if you love snacking in the park.
Stick your cups and snacks in the muffin tray cups to create the perfect picnic tray. This also helps with pouring drinks one-handed, like shown in the photo. You can also pick up the tray and set it in your lap, which is helpful.
Festive Birds Nests
How cute is this idea? Everyone in the family will gush at these treats for Easter. After making rice crispy treats, you can use a muffin tray to create these birds nests. Take the rice crispy treats and work them into the shape of the cup by pressing firmly.
One you get the shape down, simply fill them with little chocolate eggs. This is a cute idea that doesn't take a lot of work. Muffin tin hack for the win!
