The Sweet Filling To Make Store-Bought Muffin Mix Taste Bakery-Grade

Using store-bought muffin mix is perfect for when you have a craving for warm, just-out-of-the-oven muffins but don't have the time or all of the ingredients to make your favorite recipe. There's just one problem: Often, they don't come out nearly as good as muffins made fully from scratch. However, that doesn't mean that you have to give up the muffin mix; there are ways to make them taste much better and closer to bakery-level deliciousness. One trick? Use jam as a sweet filling.

To make the jam-filled muffins, the first step is to make the muffin mix according to the box's instructions. Then, when it comes time to add the batter to the muffin pan, start by filling each cup only halfway. Next, drop about a teaspoon's worth of jam onto the top of the batter. Then, add more batter to the top of the jam and bake as normal.

When the baking time is up, all that's left to do is dig in and enjoy these upgraded muffins. As you bite into that sweet, fruity filling, you'll forget that these muffins came from a box.

When it comes to the muffin's sweet filling, you can use any flavor of jam that you'd like — as long as you use jam, specifically — not jelly. This is because jelly contains more liquid and will make the muffins too moist. Besides jam, you can also use fruit curd, which has a smoother consistency than jam, as well as a flavor that is a bit more intense.

Additionally, you can use either store-bought or homemade jam for this idea. Of course, homemade jam will probably taste a little better, especially since it will have been made exactly to your preferences, but a trusted store-bought jam will also be plenty tasty. Since the whole point of using a muffin mix is to save time, you probably won't want to make a batch of jam from scratch just for this purpose, but it's a good use for any leftover homemade jam that you have lying around and need to find a use for.

With all of that in mind, all that's left to do is figure out what type of jam you'd like to pair with what type of muffin. Maybe you want to infuse some citrusy flavor into blueberry muffins with lemon curd. Or maybe you want to double up on one flavor by pairing up strawberry jam with strawberry muffins.