Who doesn’t like a big, tasty muffin to start their day in the morning? Muffins are an essential morning staple for many people (and great in the afternoons and evenings too).
National Muffin Day is an opportunity for people everywhere to celebrate everything they might love about muffins with the people all around.
Most people would agree that muffins are fantastic! They come in a variety of flavors, they’re super easy to make, and they’re fun to eat.
Some people think they are pretty much like a delicious cupcake without frosting–but eaten for breakfast. But the traditional muffin batter is a bit more dense and they often include fruit in them.
National Muffin Day Timeline
First appearance of the word “Muffin” in print
Originally spelled “moofin”, the word muffin made its way into circulation and may have come from the German form of “muffen” which is the plural form meaning small cakes. It also may have come from the French word “moufflet” which is used for soft baked goods.
“Muffin Man” rhyme is first published
No one knows its exact origins but this rhyme (and then song) was likely created in London, about a man who delivers muffins and crumpets on the West End. Its lyrics remain largely unchanged for a hundred years.
Jacob Kauffman starts giving away muffins
Feeling a burden for the sentiment against homeless people in his hometown of San Francisco, Jacob Kauffman decides to do a small thing by baking and handing out muffins on the street. He and others in his sphere make donations to the local homelessness charity for everyone who joins in on the project by making and handing out muffins.
First National Muffin Day is observed
Created by Jacob Kauffman and Julia Levy, the ideas comes when the two meet during an interview for Levy’s blog as she tells the story of Kauffman and his habit of giving away muffins to hungry people each morning on his walk to work. The two collaborate to create the day.
More than 100 participate for National Muffin Day
Word about the day spreads quickly and in its second year of existence, more than 100 different people are involved with baking muffins and giving them away, a gift which was matched by Jacob Kauffman. The event takes place all over the world including California, New York, Boston, Canada, and Hong Kong. Thousands of dollars are collected for charities supporting the homeless.
How to Celebrate National Muffin Day
Most people are pleased to learn that celebrating National Muffin Day is easy and there are lots of things that can be done in observance of the day.
Try out some of these ideas to get started, or come up with other creative ways to celebrate this day:
Bake Muffins and Give Them Away
The organizers of National Muffin Day encourage people to bake their own muffins and hand them out to people experiencing homelessness in the communities around them.
To sweeten the deal Kaufman and Levy have set up an organization that will donate money to homeless people in a specific city every time participants bake muffins and hand them out to people who need them in their local areas.
The more nutritious and filling the muffins are, the better! So try baking them with hidden nutrition such as zucchini, summer squash, whole wheat flour, blueberries, chai protein powder or other ingredients.
Don’t forget that nut allergies can be prevalent, so this might be an ingredient to avoid during baking muffins that are meant to be given away.
Enjoy Eating Muffins
Everyone has their way of eating muffins. Some chew through them in a couple of bites, while others take their time, spreading the butter and jam to make a muffin sandwich.
No matter how a person chooses to eat their muffins, they are well worth celebrating on this, and really any other, day.
Find a Great Muffin Bakery
People can also celebrate National Muffin Day by going out and searching for the best bakery in town.
If the bakery isn’t aware of the good deeds that can be done on National Muffin Day, let them know about this excellent opportunity to participate and help in the community.
One fun way to enjoy the day might be to gather up a group of people, and then do a bakery crawl. Try each muffin individually and then decide which offers the most exceptional culinary experience.
And don’t forget to ask everyone to participate by making a donation to the local homeless shelter as well!
Spread the Word about National Muffin Day
Since it’s still a relatively new day and still gaining traction, why not help out the cause a bit by sharing it with anyone in your sphere of influence?
Tell friends and family members, make an announcement at work, put up a notice at the school or post National Muffin Day activities on various social media accounts so that more people can get involved.
Look Out for Needy People
In the same way that Kaufmann needed to train himself to look for ways to connect with needy people, there are opportunities everywhere for humans to connect with each other.
Something so small as making eye contact and smiling at someone can make all the difference for the human experience.
This is especially true for someone who is down-and-out or having a bad day. Look for ways to acknowledge the humanity of someone else in need and give them a bit of encouragement–on National Muffin Day and every other day of the year as well!
History of National Muffin Day
National Muffin Day might be a big celebration on this day in modern times, but the concept has humble beginnings.
It all started with the work of tech company employee Jacob Kaufman. One morning on the way to work, Kaufman took a bag of muffins with him and handed them out to homeless people in the city in which he worked.
It was such a success that he started doing it regularly and making more muffins to meet the demand. Some people even began affectionately referring to him as “The Muffin Man”.
By his own admission, Kaufman says that his eyes were originally trained to be averted to homeless and needy people. But when he started delighting in giving muffins away, he began looking for them wherever he could find them.
His awareness of these people as not just “needy”, but as humans who deserved a bit of attention, changed his entire perspective. He wasn’t just doing charity work, but he was excited to connect with them every day over a muffin.
For years, Kaufman was a source of giving and inspiration to those who were less fortunate than him, providing them with delicious food that they could enjoy. For many, it was a highlight and changed the trajectory of the rest of their day.
Kaufman continued doing his work under the radar until blogger Julia Levy picked up on his story. She reported about what he was doing in a blog post on the theme of ordinary philanthropists.
After talking with one another, the duo soon realized that they could use the appeal of Kaufman’s muffin experience to help more homeless people who were living in other places.
The result of the conversation was the inception of National Muffin Day back in 2015, an opportunity for people to bake muffins and raise money for homeless shelters. Muffins would go from something that served consumers to a vehicle for helping less fortunate people who were struggling on the streets.
The need for the donations and goodwill that go along with National Muffin Day is enormous. There are thousands of people living on the streets who need warm, delicious muffins (and many other resources) that are made and served with love.
Facts About National Muffin Day
Medieval Muffins Were Cooked Directly in the Hearth
The earliest English muffins were not baked in ovens at all but were cooked on hot stones, griddles, or even in the ashes of a hearth fire.
Medieval cooks in Britain shaped simple yeast doughs into small rounds and set them near the coals, creating a lightly browned crust and a chewy interior long before specialized muffin pans or modern stoves existed.
Street Sellers Once Rang Bells to Hawk Muffins
In 18th and 19th century London, muffin sellers walked the streets carrying trays of hot muffins on their heads or arms while ringing a handbell to attract customers.
Their distinctive calls and bells became so common that local authorities occasionally tried to regulate the noise, and this tradition likely inspired the famous “Muffin Man” rhyme about a baked-goods vendor on Drury Lane.
The Word “Muffin” May Come from a Term for “Soft Bread”
The English word “muffin” appears in print by 1703, spelled “moofin,” and linguists trace it to several possible European roots. One leading theory links it to the French word “moufflet,” used in older French to describe particularly soft bread, while others suggest the German “Muffen,” a term for small cakes.
The uncertainty reflects how quickly regional baking terms spread and blended in early modern Europe.
American Muffins Emerged with Chemical Leavening
What people in the United States recognize as a muffin owes its texture to 19th century advances in chemical leavening.
The invention and widespread availability of baking soda and baking powder allowed home cooks to create “quick breads” that rose rapidly without yeast, leading to batter-based muffins that could be mixed and baked in minutes and sweetened with sugar, fruit, or molasses.
Muffins and Cupcakes Use Different Mixing Science
Although they look similar, classic muffins and cupcakes rely on distinct mixing methods that affect texture and sweetness.
Muffins typically use the “muffin method,” where wet ingredients are stirred briefly into dry ingredients so gluten development stays low and the crumb remains slightly dense and coarse.
Cupcakes are usually made with a creaming method, beating butter and sugar to trap air, which creates a lighter, cake-like structure meant for frosting.
Blueberry Muffins Became a Showcase for a Native Fruit
Blueberries, native to North America, were not widely cultivated until the early 20th century, when agricultural research in New Jersey helped domesticate and standardize highbush varieties.
As blueberries became more available in grocery stores, they quickly found a natural home in quick breads, and by the mid‑1900s, blueberry muffins had become a classic American baked good and a common offering in diners and home kitchens alike.
