Basic Muffins (with berry and oatmeal versions)

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Lightly grease the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan. Or line the cups with papers, and grease the papers., Blend together the dry ingredients., Beat the liquid ingredients together — milk, oil or butter, eggs, and vanilla — until light., Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Take a fork or wire whisk and blend the two briefly — about 20 seconds should do it. The secret to light and tender muffins lies in blending together the liquid and dry ingredients gently. It's OK to leave some lumps that look as if they want more stirring; they really don't. So, no matter how hard it is, resist the impulse., Fill the cups of the muffin pan two-thirds to three-quarters full. Sprinkle with sparkling white sugar, if desired., Bake the muffins for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean. Remove them from the oven, and as soon as you can handle them turn them out of the pan onto a rack to cool.