Quickbread muffins are baked, individual-sized, cupcake-shaped foods with a moist, coarse-grained texture. Muffins are available in both savoury varieties, such as cornmeal and cheese muffins, or sweet varieties such as blueberry, chocolate chip, lemon or banana flavours. Sweetened muffins range from lightly sweetened muffins to products that are richer than many cakes in fat and sugar. They are similar to cupcakes in size and cooking methods, the main difference being that cupcakes tend to be sweet desserts using cake batter and which are often topped with sugar icing. Muffins may have solid items mixed into the batter, such as berries, chocolate chips or nuts. Fresh baked muffins are sold by bakeries, donut shops and some fast food restaurants and coffeehouses so people can eat them right away. Factory baked muffins are sold at grocery stores and convenience stores and are also served in some coffeeshops and cafeterias.
Flatbread muffins are a flatter disk-shaped, typically unsweetened yeast-leavened bread. They are of English or European origin. Rather than being entirely oven-baked, they are also cooked on a griddle or stove top and flipped from side-to-side, which results in their typical flattened shape rather than the rounded top seen in baked rolls or cake-type muffins. Cornmeal and bran are sometimes substituted for some of the flour. These muffins are popular in Commonwealth countries and the United States. Flatbread muffins are often served toasted for breakfast. They may be served with butter or margarine, and topped with sweet toppings, such as jam or honey, or savoury toppings . Flatbread muffins are often eaten as a breakfast food accompanied by coffee or tea.