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Maureen's Anything-Goes Muffins

I have baked these muffins, frequently, since 1964. Every batch tastes different because half a cup of almost anything can be added to the batter. I have added raisins, cherries, dates, nuts, coconut, apricots, and homemade mincemeat - not all at once, of course.  

Preheat oven to 400°F

Dry Ingredients:

1½ cups of flour

3 teaspoons of baking powder

¼ cup of granulated sugar

½ teaspoon of salt

Wet Ingredients: 

1 egg beaten, until foamy

1 cup of milk

4 tablespoons melted shortening

½ cup of anything, because anything goes. See below for ideas.

Maraschino cherries and walnuts, chopped together, make a tasty muffin. Feel free to use up the last few raisins, dates, dried apricots, or cranberries in your pantry, because anything goes. Half a cup of homemade mincemeat is also delicious (see Prairies North magazine, Winter Issue, 2019.) 

Method:

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, but don’t overmix. 

Fill 12 greased muffin tins to 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes at 400°F.

Welcome to From the Cookie Jar at Get a Bigger Wagon

In 2020, we launched a new design for our Get a Bigger Wagon website. On the redesigned site's home page, visitors can watch a seven-minute introduction video where Gord and I explain how the Get a Bigger Wagon project evolved. 

What to Expect on Our Site: 

A Section Dedicated to Our Young Entrepreneur Competition:  

We started the Get a Bigger Wagon Young Entrepreneur Awards competition in 2018 in affiliation with The Edwards School of Business. Each year a current poster will be displayed and downloadable from our homepage from August through November. The rest of the year, a map of Saskatchewan will list winners’ names and their hometowns. Our goal is to attract contestants from the entire province of Saskatchewan. 

A Specialized News Section:

The news section will be about the young entrepreneurs who enter our competition, the experienced entrepreneurs who speak at our annual speaker series, and friends of Get a Bigger Wagon.

A Designated Section for Subscribers of Prairies North and Saskatoon Home Magazines:

Along with my books and blogs, I write food columns for Prairies North and Saskatoon HOME magazines. To help my readers follow up on the extra recipes mentioned in each magazine, we have added a space listing the recipe links, conveniently, on the home page. These lists will change quarterly when each new issue arrives in your mailbox or digitally if you are not from Canada. 

A Change in Focus for From the Cookie Jar Blog:

From the Cookie Jar remains on the Get a Bigger Wagon website, but focuses on recipes and food stories, only. I have shifted my other personal passions to a new website called Glamour for Grandmothers.  

New Attraction: Glamour for Grandmothers

To embrace my personal stories and projects, I launched a new website called Glamour for Grandmothers. I write about family, fashion, food, fun, romance, and stories about grandchildren. Everyone is welcome to sign up for the blog, Glamour for Grandmothers, which will also evolve. It is a meeting place for all generations. For more fun, like us, on Facebook and Instagram.