Easy Cottage Cheese Muffins arose from an accident. I started making muffins, realized I was out of some things, and had to make quick substitutions. The end result was muffins made with cottage cheese, self-rising flour and oil -- specifically Orville Redenbacher Popping & Topping. Before you stop reading (because you have no intention of baking with butter flavored oil) do not worry --I tested with olive oil and had great results with that as well.
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White Lily Self-Rising Flour
The key ingredient in the muffins, aside from the cottage cheese, is self-rising flour. I use White Lily, brand, which is made from soft winter wheat and contains baking powder and salt. This eliminates the need for salt in most recipes. In terms of convenience, self-rising flour is terrific. However, people also appreciate it for its softness, which is why some bakers combine it with all-purpose flour in cakes and why it makes the best biscuits and muffins. It's just a handy ingredient to have around.
Orville Redenbacher's Popping & Topping Oil
Now back to that special oil. You can definitely use olive oil or any type of oil, but I've been experimenting with Orville Redenbacher popcorn oil. Not a lot of recipes call for it, and its purpose is to be used for popping and topping popcorn. Given that, I expected it would have a really buttery flavor that I wouldn't care for since I generally don't love artificial butter. But the butter flavor is barely there. And that's what I wanted -- something with a very subtle butter flavor that you'd get just a hint of when baked. It worked beautifully in blueberry and in chocolate chip muffins.
Cottage Cheese
And then there's the cottage cheese, a food that it just so fun to incorporate into various baked goods. It does wonders for the texture and flavor of some breads and adds a little protein as well. For this recipe I've been using Aldi's Friendly Farms 4% fat small curd cottage cheese. A nonfat cottage cheese would probably work too, but I think the fat probably adds to the overall deliciousness of the muffins.
Adding Note on Blueberries
Based on a comment from Stephanie, if using frozen blueberries, thaw and thoroughly pat dry. You may want to also toss them in a little extra flour to keep the moisture from seeping into the batter. I didn't have this issue with fresh blueberries, but frozen blueberries might be juicier.
Recipe
Easy Cottage Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- ¼ cup oil, I use olive oil or buttery flavor oil depending...
- ¼ cup sugar (or your favorite alternative) (50 grams)
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup cottage cheese (130 grams)
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 cup self-rising flour (I use White Lily unbleached) (130 grams)
- 1 cup blueberries or try using a handful or so of chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Have ready a 6 cup silicone muffin pan or metal muffin pan. If using metal, grease 6 cups for normal muffins or 4 to 5 cups for slightly larger.
- In a mixing bowl, using a heavy duty scraper or a big spoon, stir together the cottage cheese, sugar, oil, egg and milk. Add flour and stir just until blended.
- Spoon a little batter into each muffin cup, then sprinkle on a few blueberries. Continue spooning in batter and adding blueberries until cups are about ⅔ of the way full. Alternatively, skip the blueberries and use chocolate chips!
- Bake 18 to 20 minutes (longer if making muffins larger) until golden brown and firm to the touch. Let cool for 10 minutes and remove muffins from the cups. You can serve them warm or let them sit for a while. I think the texture improves somewhat as they sit, in which case you can re-warm or toast.
Chris says
I love these muffins! They’re not too sweet, mix up quickly and freeze great. I’ve made them with chocolate chips and dried cranberries both were fantastic. This recipe is a keeper!
Anna says
Maybe the berries were very cold and moist and the inside was underdone while the outside was brown. I haven’t had that happen yet.
Stephanie says
They taste great, but they deflated quite a bit and the inside was slightly wet still. I used frozen berries that I let thaw for a while. Maybe they were too moist for the batter? I also baked an extra couple minutes, and the tops browned, so I don’t think I under baked. Not sure what went wrong here.
Anna says
Sarah, I still remember the ever-changing toddler taste buds well. I'm so glad the muffins worked out, and thank you for testing them with zucchini and only 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. For storage, I always freeze muffins.
Sarah says
My toddler, after enjoying cottage cheese her whole tiny life, decided she no longer likes it. I had to find something to make so the container wouldn't waste. I also had a ton of shredded zucchini and I threw some in instead of blueberries! I used only 2 tbsp of maple syrup to sweeten. Not only does my toddler love them but so does my picky husband . Thank you!
I am curious if these should be stored in the fridge? Or if they freeze well with the cottage cheese in there?
Anna says
Thank you, Sue. It's a gift. LOL.
Sue says
Your ability to successfully use unconventional ingredients is impressive!
I’m probably making your Basic Blueberry Muffins/Good Ones again this weekend. The 2 year old grandson loves them.