Part of my Baking Basics series: Don’t have the right size muffin liners for your jumbo muffin pan, or didn’t realize you were out of standard cupcake liners until you were ready to add batter for your favorite baked goods? Good news – you can easily make your own muffin liners out of parchment paper!
Tell me if you’ve ever been in this position: you’re all excited to make some gigantic, bakery-style blueberry muffins so you gather all your ingredients and get to work!
15 minutes later, your oven is preheated and your batter is ready to go, and when you open your box of various colored and sized muffin liners you discover that you are completely out of jumbo muffin liners. [falls on the floor in tears]
Just kidding, it’s not that serious. And sure, you could just grease or spray the tins with nonstick spray – but we’re talking muffins that are chock full of blueberries, which means the fruit might be touching the tin, and it might still stick to the sides and bottom.
I don’t know about you, but my idea of a good time isn’t trying to pry a blueberry muffin out of a baking tin only to find yourself with a pile of muffin pieces on a plate.
Thankfully, if you have some parchment paper we have an easy solution to this problem because you can quickly and easily DIY your own muffin liners.
Materials you need to make your own muffin liners
- Your muffin pan of choice (standard-size or jumbo-size)
- Parchment paper (bleacher or unbleached parchment paper will both work)
- Measuring tape or ruler
- Scissors
- An object that fits inside each muffin cup (i.e.: a glass or can)
How to make parchment paper muffin liners
The process is the same for both standard-sized muffins and jumbo-sized muffins, it’s just a matter of different measurements and quantities for each:
- For a jumbo muffin pan: Measure out approximately 6″ squares for each muffin cup (jumbo muffin cups are usually 3 1/2″ in diameter). So for a jumbo muffin tin that holds 6 muffins, you want six 6″ squares of parchment paper.
- For a standard muffin pan: Measure out approximately 5″ squares for each muffin cup (standard muffin cups are usually 2 3/4″ in diameter). So for a standard muffin tin that holds 12 muffins, you want twelve 5″ squares of parchment paper. Even better, buy these pre-cut parchment paper squares and always have them handy!
Step 1: Measure out approximately 5″ or 6″ squares for each muffin cup (12 for a standard muffin pan or 6 for a jumbo muffin pan, respectively).
Step 2: Grab an object that fits well into the base of each muffin cup – I find that some of my drinking glasses work well, as well as some canned goods in my pantry. Placing the object base in the center of the parchment square, wrap the parchment around your object to form the cup, forming creases around the bottom to really mold it into the shape you need.
Step 3: You can simply remove it from the object and stick it into your muffin tin, or you can do what I like to do – place them into the muffin tin with the object sitting inside to weigh it down. I find that by letting them sit this way until I’m ready to use them, they hold their form a bit better.
Voila! You have homemade tulip-style muffin cups just ready and waiting for the batter of your favorite muffins and cupcakes.
Want cleaner-looking pleats?
If you want to ensure that the pleats are as symmetrical as possible, you can pinch the paper against the object between the four corners of your parchment square with one hand while folding and pressing each corner with your other hand.
Bleached vs. unbleached parchment paper
The only difference between bleached and unbleached parchment paper is that the bleached parchment is white in color because it has been processed with chlorine, and the unbleached parchment is brown because it has not been processed with chlorine.
Can I use DIY muffin liners for cupcakes?
You sure can. Making cupcake liners out of parchment paper is the exact same process, but I’d recommend trimming the top edges of the parchment before adding any frosting to your cupcakes.
Can I use bleached parchment paper?
Yep! I just keep unbleached parchment paper in my house, but bleached parchment paper will work just as well for homemade muffin liners.
The only difference between the two is that bleached parchment paper is white because it’s been treated with chlorine, while unbleached parchment paper is untreated and brown in color.
Can I use wax paper instead?
Nope. Wax paper isn’t safe to put in the oven because the wax coating on the paper can melt, or even ignite!
Parchment paper is safe to use in the oven because its silicone coating is specifically developed to be heat resistant.
Do you have to spray cupcake liners?
You might not need to, but I still recommend spraying cupcake liners before adding batter just to further ensure they don’t stick after baking.
I hope this information helps!
Do you have any questions about this topic that I didn’t answer? Let me know in the comments below!
Description
Equipment
- Ruler or tape measurer
Ingredients
- Parchment paper
- Object that fits inside each muffin cup, (i.e.: a glass or can)
Instructions
Cut parchment squares
- For jumbo muffin tins: Measure and cut out approximately 6″ squares for each muffin cup (jumbo muffin cups are usually 3 1/2″ in diameter). So for a jumbo muffin tin that holds 6 muffins, you want six 6″ squares of parchment paper.For standard muffin tins: Measure and cut out approximately 5″ squares for each muffin cup (standard muffin cups are usually 2 3/4″ in diameter). So for a standard muffin tin that holds 12 muffins, you want twelve 5″ squares of parchment paper.Parchment paper
Create muffin liners
- Grab an object that fits well into the base of each muffin cup – I find that some of my drinking glasses work well, as well as some canned goods in my pantry.Object that fits inside each muffin cup
- Placing the object base in the center of the parchment square, wrap the parchment around your object to form the cup, forming creases around the bottom to really mold it into the shape you need.
- You can simply remove it from the object and stick it into your muffin tin, or you can do what I like to do – place them into the muffin tin with the object sitting inside to weigh it down. I find that by letting them sit this way until I’m ready to use them, they hold their form a bit better.
- Voila! You have homemade tulip style muffin cups. Use them in your favorite muffin or cupcake recipe and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Want cleaner looking pleats? If you want to ensure that the pleats are as symmetrical as possible, you can pinch the paper against the object between the four corners of your parchment square with one hand while folding and pressing each corner with your other hand.
- Can I use them for cupcakes? You sure can. Making cupcake liners out of parchment paper is the exact same process, but I’d recommend trimming the top edges of the parchment before adding any frosting to your cupcakes.
- Can I use bleached parchment paper? Yep! I just keep unbleached parchment paper in my house, but bleached parchment paper will work just as well for homemade muffin liners. The only difference between the two is that bleached parchment paper is white because it’s been treated with chlorine, while unbleached parchment paper is untreated and brown in color.
- Can I use wax paper instead? Nope. Wax paper isn’t safe to put in the oven because the wax coating on the paper can melt, or even ignite! Parchment paper is safe to use in the oven because its silicone coating is specifically developed to be heat resistant.
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