We seriously can't get enough of these muffins. We made them twice already this week, and that is why we had to share them. Aaron has always been a blueberry muffin guy...he likes to sample whoever has 'em...and rarely is he impressed, and then he wonders why he became a professional blueberry muffin sampler in the first place. But these ones blew him away.
Here's the thing...we dislike muffins that are pretty much just a big indulgent piece of cake. I mean, why not just get that big indulgent piece of cake instead?? A muffin should at least be semi beneficial to your day...not a load of empty calories. And these fit the bill...good and good for you.
In the preparation stage you can kinda tell that they're gonna be really really good. First off, I've never experienced such a thick and dense batter. For real, when you've got it to the stage just before you add the fruit it is this ultra moist wad of whole wheat stuff...you may even want to use your hands to fold in the berries. And we went with two kinds of berries because we had some really good ones and figured 'why not'? You can substitute berries for sure...pick your faves...pick whatever looks the best at your local market. But ok, for real...these are the most moist muffins ever...and the bursts of berry are like heaven...and the tiny little kick of lemon zest makes them absolutely perfect. We think these will be the muffins you make to bring along with you on any morning meet ups, outings with the garden club maybe, or to pack off with the kids, have for breakfast...or for that boost of amazing you might require in between meals.
What you will need:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar (we used sugar in the raw)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon lemon zest
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk (we used plain almond milk)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
1 1/2 cups mixed berries (we used blueberries and strawberries)
for topping:
1 tablespoon sugar in the raw
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat your oven 375 degree.
Spray a muffin pan with non stick spray.
We normally start our day with a smoothie, so for that purpose we keep fruit in at all times. Berries are a staple, and even though we have them daily, we still end up losing some to overripeness in the end. (overripeness is an odd looking word...it might even be a body of water in northern Scotland) Anyway, to save our fruit we began to freeze it after the first day or so. The berries being frozen also makes them into perfectly cold and refreshing bombs to drop in our smoothie blender. If you are using frozen berries in this recipe just be sure to let them warm up on the counter for a little while first.
Ok, and now for the lemon...the zest is the magical ingredient here. It's almost like a magic wand that you wave over the batter to make it perfect. Just look at the word itself..."Zest!"... it's magical. The boost it gives to the overall flavor is essential...Do Not skip the zest. If you don't have a lemon then hold off on making these. Because you want a Good Morning Muffin....not a Sorta Tolerable Morning Muffin...right?!
Ok, zest your lemon. A heaping teaspoon is probably like 3/4 zest of a small lemon.
Whole wheat pastry flour is not the same as whole wheat flour...its lighter and perfect for baking.
So, whisk or mix together your flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Then add in your lemon zest and whisk or mix.
In a separate bowl whisk an egg. Then whisk in the milk and the butter. (make sure your melted butter is cooled)
Then add this to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.
Now it's time to gently fold in your berries. We started out with the spatula, but as I said above...it's a very thick batter...so we finished the folding in with our hands just to make sure that we had an even distribution of fruit. And seriously, don't worry that it is so thick...in the baking process the moisture of the berries spreads throughout the muffins.
Now divide the batter evenly among twelve muffin cups of a sprayed pan. To make the topping just combine one tbsp of raw sugar and the 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon...then sprinkle the muffin tops.
Bake for 20-22 minutes, remove from oven, place the pan on a cooling rack and let the muffins sit in the pan for another 5 minutes.
For having no wrappers it is surprising how easily they pop out of the muffin pan.
Let them cool on a rack or eat 'em warm...up to you. We let them cool just so the fruit sets up a bit after being so hot in the oven. They can keep for a few days at room temp in a sealed container or under a cake dome...and for about a week in the fridge. But you won't keep them that long. ; )
Really, if you are a muffin person...you will love these. If you think most muffins are blah...then these might change your mind. Give 'em a try and let us know all about it!
xo, Jenny & Aaron