Muffins on Demand

Way back in August I posted a different muffin recipe. The muffin tin-greasing tips still apply.
My task of the day is to develop a generic muffin recipe. This way, I can make a muffin mix to have on hand when I am in a time crunch, and I still want to feel virtuous about my on-the-go food. The muffins pictured above are NOT virtuous. Making muffins is virtuous, however, and that is enough virtue to do the trick.

The muffins do have a bit of whole grain cellulose, thank you Dakota Maid, and are low sodium, thanks in part to Rumford brand reduced sodium baking powder and Morten's lite-salt. If you think that is oxymoronic, you are wrong. There are so many kinds of salt in the world. It's a good thing, too. Almost any one of them is better for you than more sodium.

PART 1
Here is the recipe I used:
Mix together the following -
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3 TBS shortening
3 TBS unsalted butter

These should be mixed thoroughly, until the result looks like slightly sticky sand. You can use your hands to do this. At this point, the result can be sealed in a container and reserved for "Muffin Baking Time." Next time I mix this up, I am going to make several and heat seal them in vacuum bags.

PART 2
When "Muffin Baking Time" arrives, preheat the oven to 375º f.
Now, create a taste theme for the muffins. Today my theme was pineapple, dried cranberry and walnut. With vanilla and cinnamon, for good measure.
Put the taste theme items in a 2 qt bowl. I used 1/4 cup of each chopped fruit and nutmeats, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.

Finally, to the theme bowl add -
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Combine everything in the theme bowl thoroughly.

Grease (the bottoms only) of 8 muffin cups. Pour the muffin mixture into a large bowl. Add the contents of the theme bowl. Mix with a spoon just until everything is moistened. Evenly scoop the muffin batter into the muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes, or until done.
Run a butter knife around the side of each muffin to loosen it from the tin. Remove and cool the muffins on a rack or eat them while they are still warm.
This is so easy, I can do PART 2 in the morning, while I am making coffee. As soon as the muffins are in the oven, I am in the shower. It adds exactly four minutes to my morning activities.
That is less time than it takes to even find the right muffin in the bakery section of the convenience store.