The Genius Way To Use Mason Jar Bands To Bake Your Muffins

A fresh-baked muffin is a great way to start the day, and a decadent cupcake can be the perfect way to end it. But the pans designed to cook these tasty treats can be cumbersome, especially in a small kitchen. Awkwardly shaped and perhaps infrequently used, a muffin pan might spend most of its life getting shuffled out of the way for more convenient cookware — if you even have one in the first place.

On the other hand, mason jars are perhaps one of the most versatile kitchen items, used in everything from home canning to wedding decorations. But it may not be common knowledge that part of a mason jar can be used to bake muffins. 

For cooks who either don't have or don't want to bother with a muffin pan, the baked treat can be cooked using mason jar bands. Take caution though, for an improper technique can end in a mess of malformed muffins.

To bake cupcakes or muffins with mason jar bands — the heatproof metal ring that screws the lid onto the glass jar — you need the standard-sized version. Wide-mouth bands will be too large, but regular-size ones are the perfect diameter to support a muffin liner. Simply place the bands right-side up on a baking sheet and put muffin liners in the middle — they should nestle right in. 

Ideally you'd like to use the ones where the sealed lid is separate — again, the bands not full lids. It's important to use heavy-duty liners as well, because the regular ones are too thin and will likely crumple under the weight of your batter. Don't be afraid to gently push them in if need be, and leave space between them on the pan. Bake as usual, and enjoy.

This kitchen hack doesn't just work with muffins. Anything that can bake in a muffin tin, from tried-and-true favorites like copycat Starbucks egg bites, to frontier-pushing ideas like chocolate mayo cupcakes will work. Just make sure you don't accidentally fail a drug test getting into muffin adventures.