Blueberry Bran Muffins

I love blueberry muffins, in case you couldn't tell.  These are yet another variation, with plump fresh blueberries and a more rustic muffin base.  Thanks to the use of wheat germ or wheat bran (your choice), these are muffins you can feel pretty good about eating.  They're high in fiber and low in fat.  They also happen to taste great.

You can find fantastic blueberries right now, so it's a great time to give this recipe a try.  The muffins are sweetened with maple syrup, so they have that extra edge that is hard to identify. They'll make an excellent breakfast before all your barbecue-ing on memorial day.  Muffins make an excellent breakfast any time, in my opinion!

*Note:  the original recipe said it makes 12 muffins, but I got 16.  So have a second muffin tin around just in case.

Blueberry Bran Muffins

adapted from Mad Hungry

makes 12-16* muffins

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1 1/2 cups skim milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup wheat bran or wheat germ

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper or reusable liners.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt.   In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, maple, sugar, oil, and milk together.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just mixed together.  Stir in blueberries and wheat bran or germ.

3.  Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 of the way (more if you want your muffins to spill over the top).   You may need to use a second muffin tin for the extra batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Enjoy!

Blueberry-Almond Muffins

Blueberries are at full steam ahead here right now, so it's time to take advantage.  I suppose if you really want to fully appreciate a blueberry in all its natural splendor, you should eat it raw.  But when I have blueberries I can't help but want to bake.  Today I decided to try this delicious muffin recipe, incorporating both almond and blueberry flavors in one portable little package.  Yum!

I am a fan of just about anything almond-flavored, and this muffin did not disappoint.  The sweet-tart juice of the blueberries combines beautifully with the luxurious almond extract, punctuated with the occasional crunch of a slivered almond in the mix.  It's so delicious!  And it's low in fat and sugar, too, and packed with whole grains.  I definitely won't feel guilty eating this for breakfast tomorrow!

Blueberry-Almond Muffins

adapted from Eating Well in Season

makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup nonfat buttermilk

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups fresh blueberries (other berries would work too)

1/2 cup chopped toasted sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray, or use silicon or paper liners.

2.  Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl

3.  Whisk eggs, buttermilk, brown sugar, butter, oil, vanilla, and almond extract in another large bowl until well combined.

4.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.  Add berries and almonds.  Stir just to combine; do not overmix.  Divide the batter among the muffin cups (an ice cream scoop works well).  

5.  Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

I have baked many a banana bread in my lifetime, and it's safe to say that this is the best one yet.  The crust is crisp, the innards are soft and tender.  It's loaded with natural banana flavor without being overly intense.  It is, in a word, perfection.

I do a lot of baking with whole wheat flour - in fact, all my baking these days is with whole wheat flour.  My two personal favorites are King Arthur Flour's white whole wheat and their whole wheat pastry flour.  I took a regular white-flour recipe for banana bread and decided to try using half white whole wheat, and half whole wheat pastry flour.  It came out absolutely magnificent.  Now, I'm sure it would be just as good with all of one or the other, so if you don't feel like investing in two different types of whole wheat flour, fear not.

This is a banana bread you can feel pretty good about eating - low fat, whole grains, loads of bananas.  But I promise that if you give it to someone, they won't taste it and say "Oh is this some fancy healthy kind of banana bread?"  It's got that same down-home goodness of traditional banana bread, only even tastier.  It is the mecca of banana bread, people.  Please try it and enjoy.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

adapted from Cooking Light Complete Cookbook

makes one loaf

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs

3 medium sized ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt or sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Whisk together flours, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

3.  In a stand mixer or large bowl, beat sugar and butter at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute).  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended.  Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until just moist.

4.  Spoon batter into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack, then remove from pan and cool completely on the wire rack.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Muffins (CEIMB)

Any excuse to use pumpkin in a recipe, and I'm there.  This week's Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe was for delicious, moist, delectable, and yet miraculously healthy pumpkin pie muffins.  I made them Wednesday night so we could grab them on our way to work Thursday morning.  It's like eating dessert for breakfast, only without any guilt whatsoever.  The usual magic from Ellie.

These muffins are spicy and fantastic.  Thanks to the pumpkin and yogurt (buttermilk in the original recipe), they maintain their moisture so well.  I made some minor modifications, namely using all whole wheat flour instead of half and half, pumpkin pie spice instead of the assorted spices (which are basically the same thing), reduced the molasses so they wouldn't be too intense, and the aforementioned yogurt instead of buttermilk.  I also omitted the pumpkin seed topping that Ellie recommended, mostly out of laziness.  They came out beautifully.

Above you see them fresh from the oven.  I'm guessing by the end of the day they will be mostly gone...

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used light brown)

2 tablespoons unsulphered molasses

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Line a muffin tin with re-usable liners, or paper liners if you're not so eco-friendly.  (Otherwise spray with cooking spray).  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spice.  Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, molasses, canola oil, and one egg until well combined.  Whisk in remaining egg until combined.  Add pumpkin and vanilla and whisk thoroughly.

3.  Add half the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined.  Stir in the yogurt (or buttermilk), followed by remaining flour mixture.  Divide batter evenly among muffin cups so each cup is about 2/3 full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.  Let cool 15 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

Enjoy!

Banana Zucchini Muffins

Here I go with my crazy muffin combinations again. Knowing how delicious both banana bread and zucchini bread are, it seemed only natural that a banana zucchini muffin would be a beautiful thing. I compared multiple muffin recipes and came up with a hybrid that seemed like it would do the trick. And it does, my friends. It does.

This muffin is incredibly moist, with a delicate flavor and a great deal of comfort value. It is not super sweet, so it feels like breakfast rather than dessert. It is also jam-packed with nutrition, and you'd never even know.

Banana Zucchini Muffins
makes 12

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups white whole wheat (or all-purpose) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup shredded zucchini, moisture squeezed out
2 ripe medium bananas, mashed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a muffin tin with reusable (or not) muffin cups or grease and flour the pan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, applesauce, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Stir until just blended. Then stir in the grated zucchini and mashed banana.

4. Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups (an ice cream scoop works well). Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean. Let cool about 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan and eat!

Enjoy!

Carrot Cupcakes with Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting

I think I must have lost my mind at some point in time, but I found it tonight. This recipe has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while now, and yet this is the first time I made it. Why?? All this time, I could have been eating these delectable little morsels of heaven. And I could have justified it, too, as they are pretty healthy for a cupcake.

There is a reason why cupcakes are so popular. They're every bit as fun to make as they are to eat. The only part of the process that isn't so fun is making yourself wait for them to cool before you frost them. But the rest of it? Sheer bliss.

These are a healthier version of carrot cake in miniature form. The frosting is beautiful and delicious without being too rich, and the cake is just spicy enough without making you reach for your beverage. Ellie has done it again. These cupcakes are definitely going to be a regular occurrence in our household.

Carrot Cupcakes with Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave
makes a dozen

INGREDIENTS:

for the cupcakes:
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup natural unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots (about 2 medium)

for the frosting:
4 oz. Neufchatel cheese (reduced-fat cream cheese), softened
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 muffin cups with paper (or preferably silicup) liners.

2. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, and eggs until well combined. Whisk in the applesauce, vanilla and carrots. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined.

3. Divide batter fairly evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

4. In an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon zest until smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cupcakes and eat up!

These should be stored in the refrigerator, and eaten within 3 days. Good luck waiting that long! Enjoy!

A Tale of Two Muffins

We had a brunch party at our home today for mother's day (a day early). I made two types of muffins, and each was delicious in its own special way. Both are fairly healthy, as muffins go. And both involve beautiful fruit combinations that are perfect for spring.

My personal preference was for the banana-blueberry, which was incredibly flavorful and delicious, like blueberry-studded banana bread in a portable format. Completely gorgeous. But the strawberry-orange was nothing to ignore, with its slightly salty almond topping and the incredible moistness from the strawberries.

In short, both recipes are worth a try and therefore we have, for the first time, a twofer.

Muffin the First:

Banana-Blueberry Muffins
adapted from Everyday Food Magazine
makes 12+

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp (I used Smart Balance)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas
1/3 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup frozen blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. In a bowl, whisk together flour, wheat germ, baking soda and salt.

2. In a standing mixer with the paddle blade attachment (or in a large bowl with an electric mixer), beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas and stir in milk and vanilla.

3. With mixer on low, alternate adding flour mixture and banana mixture to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined, and gently stir in blueberries.

4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick passes the doneness test, about 28 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then cool on a rack.

Muffin the Second:

Strawberry-Orange Muffins
adapted from Eating Well Magazine
makes 12

INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoons dry roasted unsalted almonds
2 tablespoons plus 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup skim buttermilk
1/4 cup orange juice
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

2. In a food processor, process almonds, 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon orange zest and 1/4 teaspoon salt until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl, drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and stir to combine.

3. Whisk the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons orange zest and 1/4 cup oil in a medium bowl with buttermilk, orange juice, egg and vanilla until well combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients; stir until just combined. Stir in strawberries.

4. Divide batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with the almond topping, gently pressing into the batter. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick passes the test, about 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then cool on a rack.

Go ahead and have a muffin party, it's fun! And these are some different twists on your typical muffin. Enjoy!

Apple Muffins

One of the cardinal rules of my kitchen is to try, really hard, to use everything up. As I'm seeking to become an experienced cook, one of the toughest lessons I've learned is that judgment about quantity is not a natural born talent. It's something you acquire. It may seem obvious - if you're feeding two people, you need two servings. But what is two servings? And will you truly eat the leftovers the next day? There are numerous variables involved in any meal, and the best intentions don't always work out.

The easiest genre to avoid waste is fruit. If you overestimated your craving for bananas, and the bananas you bought are turning black, make banana bread! Too many clementines? Time for a tall glass of fresh-squeezed juice. Strawberries getting squishy? Make a smoothie. It's logical.

Well I found myself with some apples that were no longer as crisp as my husband and I like them, so I scoured all my cookbooks for a delicious apple muffin recipe. I found a couple, but none of them would work without a trip to the grocery store, which seemed to defeat the whole purpose of using up what I already had. So I turned to our friend, the internet. And on the King Arthur Flour website (www.kingarthurflour.com; they're based out of Vermont and they make my favorite white whole wheat flour), I found a fabulous apple muffin recipe. I tweaked it a bit, and now our house smells of baking. And cinnamon. And deliciousness.

These muffins are moist and flavorful, not too intensely sweet, and make a great grab-and-go breakfast with a cup of coffee.

Apple Muffins
Adapted from www.kingarthurflour.com
makes 12-18 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg 1 cup lowfat plain yogurt
2 large or 3 small apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450. Line a 12-muffin pan (see step 4) with silicups, or grease and flour each cup.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

3. In a standing mixer or large bowl, cream the butter and add granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once with a rubber spatula (unless you have a BeaterBlade, and then you don't need to do this!) Mix in the yogurt slowly. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks.

4. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. You can make them really big and get 12, or if you want smaller muffins you'll need a second muffin pan. I made mine big. Sprinkle with the remaining brown sugar, and bake for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 400, and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Allow to cool a few minutes, and enjoy!