[Photograph: Sydney Oland] About the author: Sydney Oland lives in Somerville, Mass.  Find more information at sydneyoland.com (or read eatingnosetotail.com) Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes... More

Look. I'm all for eating cake at breakfast, but sometimes I wonder if people don't know (or maybe don't want to know) that there is a difference between a cupcake and a muffin. I bought a muffin the other day and I swear, it was so full of oil I should have organized a group to play an indoor game of greasy watermelon scramble. More

Olive oil keeps muffins moist and imparts a fruity flavor that pairs perfectly with lemon. More

Without eggs, these muffins only rise a little in the oven. In spite of this, the finished texture is tender and not heavy. Notes: These muffins require dairy-free milk. Use whichever milk replacement (soy, almond, rice) fits your diet. If... More

Rhubarb is like tonic water. I never pause to think about what tonic water tastes like and I never sip it straight. In fact when I finally gave it a go at home, I realized I had been conflating the taste of tonic water with bad quality gin and 3 a.m. mozzarella sticks from the Happy Days Diner. I'd like to formally say, I'm sorry, tonic water. You are your own quininial beast, and I was letting my poor culinary habits drag you down. More

These tender, vanilla-scented muffins are full of strawberry and rhubarb, making them perfect for spring. More

Baking really is magic. It's not just that otherwise good ingredients come together to make something great (Sugar? Good. Butter? Gooood.) It's that ingredients like buttermilk can be transformed into superlatively moist muffins. The first time I saw buttermilk in a recipe, I thought Martha Stewart was pulling my leg. (You know Martha, always such a jokester.) I was hard-pressed to believe that the thick, sour smelling goop in my measuring glass was going into my pancakes. More

These tender apple muffins are spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. More

These moist muffins are perfumed with orange and studded with plump dates. More

I'm not the kind of person who fiends for pumpkin-anything, but I know lots of people who wait impatiently for fall just so they can indulge in pumpkin madness. This muffin was originally created for one such friend who can never get enough pumpkin in her life. It's pumpkinlicious, moist and spicy. The brandied raisins meld perfectly with the pumpkin flavor, and the crunchy, sugary pepitas give it just a little satisfying crunch. More