How Mason Jar Bands Can Help You Bake Perfect Muffins

We've all found ourselves without muffin trays when we were positive we had them somewhere. Luckily, mason jar bands are the heroes we never knew about. They may have gained popularity over the years for their rustic aesthetic, but mason jars actually have tons of secret uses around the kitchen, from preparing to storing to baking.

For this technique, take the metal bands that screw on the lids of your mason jars (note, they have to be metal as the plastic ones are not oven-safe) and space them out on your oven tray. Next, place an empty muffin liner inside each one, making sure they aren't budging. From there, it's baking business as usual. The metal bands act as stabilizers in lieu of muffin trays, and your muffins should come out as good as they always do. So long as your mason jar bands are all the same size, there shouldn't be any difference in the way the individual muffins bake, either. It's a neat, simple hack, and one of the many tips that will ensure perfect muffins every time.

Like with any method, using mason jar lids as a baking aide requires you to keep a few things in mind. Firstly, the type of muffin liner will be more important here than when using a regular tray. Given that the metal lids only secure the baked goods from the bottom, it's important to use stronger materials to hold the batter. Foil liners are the No. 1 choice, and after that, harder paper liners. If you only have soft paper liners, consider doubling, or even tripling them up to keep the muffins more secure.

Some muffin batters are light and fluffy thanks to secret ingredients like yogurt, while others are weighed down by fillings. Either way, it's always advised to chill your muffin batter before baking, and this will weigh the liners down somewhat. For this reason, make sure your muffin liners are really snug in the jar lids so they don't collapse or warp at any point. Lastly, do not try to touch the jar lids when removing the baked muffins from the oven. They are hard metal and will take a while to cool down. Instead, use tongs to remove the muffins and another utensil to simultaneously separate them from the mason jar lids.