>In the Oxford English Dictionary this is how they are explained:
>"A light, flat, circular, spongy cake, eaten toasted and buttered at
>breakfast or tea. Formerly (now [dialect]) applied to other kinds of tea-cake."
That's such a vague description though! It could apply to all sorts of things.
>This site gives an explanation of the whole "Muffin Mystery":
>http://imaginatorium.org/words/muffin.htm
>I hope this helps.
No, Pikelets are not muffins and were not originally round. They were
more like havercakes, any sort of shape. They began being cooked in a
ring for the convenience of the (industrial) baker. Some people do
the same with eggs!
As far as I know muffins are the large bun-shaped things which
sometimes have fruit or chocolate in them. But they're certainly
linked with USA. It's this word 'English' attached to muffin which is puzzling.
And I've been around for almost seventy years, in England.
Mary