What is a muffin top pan?
A muffin top pan is a shallow, six or twelve cupped muffin pan designed for baking the top portion of a traditional muffin without the bottom part, or stump. This works because the cups in the pan are much shallower than those in traditional muffin pans. Many people prefer the muffin tops to the stumps because of the crispy, browned surface that forms as the batter rises up over the edge of the muffin cups. The bottoms, or stumps, of the muffin are much softer and crumb-like in texture than the crunchy muffin tops. The stumps lack the golden-brown crunch that the top gets. Some people even throw away the stumps and eat only the tops, so the muffin top pan helps prevent waste.
