Muffin Meltdown

It was a muffin emergency. The first batch of muffins I made for Ruby's class' holiday celebration were passable, but I had to ditch the second batch, which were deflated and undercooked.

What to do?

Like any reasonable person, I trudged through the snow to the local bodega to pick up a pumpkin-flavored Pillsbury "Quick Bread" mix (hoping nobody would see me in my moment of shame).

I added milk, oil and eggs to the mix. The directions on the back of the box said I should "stir 50 to 75 strokes," but I admit I lost count after 35 or so.

The good news is that I managed to produce respectable looking pseudo-homemade muffins.

"My mom made these muffins," Ruby bragged to her classmates this morning.

I didn't let on that I had a little help from Pillsbury and the pre-K kids couldn't tell the difference.

But don't worry -- I haven't given up in my quest to make the perfect muffin from scratch.

Please send in your muffin making tips. Clearly, I could use some help!