Muffins from Outer Space!

I awoke thismorning to gloomy skies and cold weather and thought to myself, "Self, I think it's officially baking season." So I made green tea muffins for breakfast! The brightly colored papers were a gift in the mail from a cupcake-themed swap, I thought they went well with the funny green batter! I used my old standby mix-in muffin recipe. It's like a blank canvas, and you can mix anything you like into it and make the most moist and delicious muffins ever! And since they have yogurt in them they have a bit of added nutritional value, and my green tea version has added antioxidants. Here's the recipe:

Mix-In Muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup yogurt (any flavor that corresponds with your mix-ins will work nicely, but I prefer vanilla flavored)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Turbinado or sanding sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line 12 (1/3-cup) muffin cups with paper liners.
Into a bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Melt butter and in a small bowl whisk together with yogurt, egg, and vanilla. Stir butter mixture (and additional ingredients; see note, below) into flour mixture until just combined. Divide the batter among muffin cups (this batter is thick and will not run easily like other muffin batters), sprinkle with a pinch of sanding sugar, and bake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Flavor the basic muffin batter above by adding, for example: 1 chopped banana and 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips; or 1 cup toasted almonds, 3/4 cup dried cranberries, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract; or 1 cup chopped drained canned pineapple and 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut; or 1 cup chopped dried apricots and 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, 1 3/4 cups fresh berries, or 2-3 teaspoons matcha green tea powder.

Do it! You know you want to! ^_^