School mornings in my house used to be a negotiation: cereal, no. Toast, no. Anything that takes longer than ninety seconds, absolutely not. Then I started baking a double batch of muffins on Sunday and freezing most of them. Now breakfast is a thirty second microwave job and nobody argues.

How to Freeze Muffins So They Stay Good

1. Bake the muffins and let them cool completely. Freezing warm muffins makes them soggy.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set the muffins in a single layer.
3. Freeze for about an hour, until they are firm.
4. Transfer them to a freezer bag, squeeze out the air, and label the bag with the date.
5. Pull one out the night before or microwave from frozen for 25 to 30 seconds.

Freezing them individually on the sheet first is the step people skip. If you toss warm muffins straight into a bag, they freeze into one solid brick that you have to break apart.

Which Muffins Freeze Best

• Blueberry, banana, and chocolate chip are the winners. They hold up great.
• Anything with a crumb topping freezes fine, just wrap it so the topping does not get crushed.
• Very moist varieties like pumpkin are good for about a month. Past that, they start to taste freezerish.

The Morning Routine

My kid grabs a muffin from the bag, pops it in the microwave while I make coffee, and breakfast is handled. No dishes beyond the plate. One Sunday baking session covers two weeks of mornings.

A couple of things I learned the hard way: write the date on the bag or you will find a mystery bag in March, and do not let the muffins sit in the freezer next to the fish. Muffins absorb smells like sponges. Give them their own shelf or double-bag them.