Oat Bran Muffins

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I love to wake up a bake something for breakfast but preferably something easy, with few ingredients, and that is somewhat healthy. Today, I decided to try out some oat bran muffins. They turned out nice, perhaps a little bit of a different flavor than a traditional brand muffin.They would be quite delicious with a homemade preserve. I just opted for good old fashioned Smucker's jam. This is a slight variation on this recipe from Joy of Baking.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oat bran

1/3 cup  light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup molasses

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup raisins or currants

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners or else spray with a nonstick vegetable spray. The spray would work better than liners for this recipe I think, be generous with it.

 

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, oat bran, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.

In another bowl whisk together the lightly beaten egg, molasses, vanilla extract, oil, and milk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir just until moistened. Gently stir in the raisins. (The batter will be quite thin.) 

Ladle the batter to fill the muffin cups, and bake about 16 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Makes about 12 standard-sized muffins

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Blueberry Muffins (Wheat-Free)

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Okay so part of my philosophy over why I'm losing weight by eating wheat-free is that I'm generally not trying to replace the foods I was eating before... However, this weekend we were at a wedding and there were all these delicious things that I couldn't eat and I was starving because I didn't eat my snacks when I should have. Anyways, I love to bake, it always makes me feel better so I've decided to attempt some wheat-free blueberry muffins and hopefully kill some cravings at the same time. I'd also like to continue eating this way for the most part after the Diet Bet is over so I'm going to have to find some new ways to enjoy things I love and that's going to involve a lot of experimenting in the kitchen... today I'm using almond meal/flour!

This recipe is from "Everyday Grain-Free Gourmet" by Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass, it is not only wheat-free but also free of refined sugars.

I bought this cookbook during my last round of eating wheat-free a few years ago but I didn't use it much then as I was sort of set in my ways and made the same things all the time, this time I'm doing my best to add variety to keep things interesting. They refer to these as "Muffin Mix Muffins" and have the option of using any fruit you would like. Supposedly the recipe makes 12 muffins, I only got 6 out of it which incidentally works better for me as that's more than I need.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups of finely ground almond flour/meal
1/2 tsp baking soda
scant 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup fresh or frozen berries/chopped fruit (I used blueberries)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and line a muffin tin with baking cups

Mix almond flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Add honey, vanilla, and eggs to the flour mixture and whisk together until thoroughly combined and smooth.

Add the fruit and mix well.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin and bake until the muffins start to lightly brown and a knife comes out clean when inserted, about 25 to 30 minutes.

As far as wheat-free baked goods go these were pretty good. I find often that baked goods that use something other than conventional types of flour have a tendency to be dense and lack flavor. These were flavorful and although the texture was different than a muffin made with wheat flour they were still tasty and definitely curbed my cravings.

Allspice Crumb Muffins

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I found this recipe over at the Brown Eyed Baker. They turned out well, despite not being a huge allspice fan, I liked them. They were very simple to put together, you probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboard/fridge so there were no special shopping trips necessary. They transport well as I had to take them to a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt this morning.

This recipe is the last for #muffinmonth , I enjoyed my month of muffins but I am ready to move on and try out some other things.

INGREDIENTS

For the Streusel:
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground allspice
5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
For the Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
¾ cup whole milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or line with paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

To make the streusel, put the flour, brown sugar, and allspice in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add the bits of cold butter and toss, pinching the mixture between your fingers, until you have pea-sized crumbs. Set aside in the refrigerator. (The streusel can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.)

To make the muffins, in a large bowl whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, allspice, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, milk and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. The batter will be lumpy; that is how it should be.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Sprinkle streusel over each muffin, then use your fingertips to gently press the crumbs into the batter.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin. Cool completely on the wire rack. Muffins can be stored, in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Pear & Granola Muffins

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These muffins are OK. They are supposed to be healthy, maybe that's why I didn't love them... but I loved the Healthy Morning Muffins or maybe it's because I used greek yogurt instead of plain low fat yogurt as the recipe suggested. They weren't bad, they just weren't my favorite.

INGREDIENTS

For Muffins
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 D'Anjou pears (2 cups), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3/4 cup plain granola

For Granola Crisp Topping
(or use an additional 3/4 cup plain granola)
1/2 cup granola
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, yogurt, and butter. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Add egg mixture to well, and mix in flour mixture until just combined. Gently fold in the granola and pears.

Make Granola Crisp Topping: In a bowl, toss together 1/2 cup granola, 1/4 cup each all-purpose flour and packed light-brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cut 3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter into pieces; add to granola mixture, and rub in with fingertips until clumps form.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each 3/4 full. Sprinkle with granola topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before removing from tin. Serve warm or at room temperature.

#MuffinMonth is coming to an end, I think I've only got one more muffin recipe in me... for now that is. Here are a few more tips to improve your muffin baking experience!
Muffin Baking Tips: 
1. If muffin cups are filled more than 3/4 full the top of the muffin will come out flat as opposed to rounded.
2. If some muffin cups will remain empty during baking, fill unused cups with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to keep pan from warping
3. If baked muffins stick to the bottom of the muffin cup, place hot pan on wet towel for roughly two minutes.

Healthy Morning Muffins

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This is actually a really easy recipe despite having to shred the carrots, it was quick as well. #muffinmonth is now in full swing, if you'd like to see any other muffin recipes please post in the comments.

INGREDIENTS
Nonstick cooking spray

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup skim milk
4 medium carrots, shredded
1 medium ripe banana, mashed

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt until there are no lumps. Stir in oats and raisins. Add oil, egg, milk, carrots, and banana and stir until blended.

Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature.

Muffin Baking Tips:
1. For the best results use fresh baking soda & baking powder 
2. Mix by hand and NOT with an electric mixer to avoid over-mixing, as a general rule muffin batter should appear lumpy
3. To store muffins, place some folded paper towels at the bottom of your container to collect extra moisture. Muffins are best served fresh because they do have a lot of moisture, over time that moisture will collect on the surface of your muffin and change the overall texture. 

Coconut Pineapple Muffins

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March is #muffinmonth on the blog! So today I decided on coconut & pineapple since I happened to have both of those ingredients. I found this recipe on another blog here.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut
3 egg whites
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup pineapple, diced into small pieces
2 teaspoons dark rum OR vanilla (I used vanilla only because I didn't have any dark rum)


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour a muffin pan, or line with muffin paper liners.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and 1/4 cup of the coconut. In another bowl, whisk the sour cream, butter, egg whites, and rum (or vanilla) together until smooth. Stir in the diced pineapple.

Stir the dry ingredients into the sour cream mixture and stir with a spoon until just combined, do not overmix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup to about 3/4 of the way full. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of the coconut and 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar. Sprinkle over the muffin batter.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

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I hereby proclaim March to be "Muffin Month" meaning that most of the recipes for this month will be muffins! For today, I made Blueberry Streusel Muffins, why all the blueberry recipes you might ask? I had a whole bunch of frozen blueberries in the freezer, I think this was finally the last of them.

INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 recipe Streusel Topping (see below) - this is optional

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease twelve 2 1/2 inch muffin cups or line with paper cups; set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

2. In another bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Gently fold in blueberries.

3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. If desired, sprinkle streuesel topping over muffin batter in cups (see below). Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from cups; serve warm.

Optional Streusel Topping: In a small bowl stir together 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons of packed brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Cut in 2 tablespoons of butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Upcoming Recipes:

Cheese Muffins

Crumb Cake Muffins

Healthy Morning Muffins

Zucchini Banana and Flax Seed Muffins

Do you have any favorite muffin recipes? What muffins would you like to see for the month of March? Post in the comments below:

Coffee Cake Muffins

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These are SO good. I used a regular muffin tin instead of a "JUMBO" one, it worked out, it was a little messier than I would expect it to be with a jumbo one and a little more difficult to get the muffins out but it still worked. Of course this is a Martha Stewart recipe, I love her, every recipe works.

INGREDIENTS

For the Muffins
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Confectioners' sugar (optional)

For the Streusel Topping
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

DIRECTIONS

Prepare streusel topping: In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour, and salt. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles large coarse crumbs; refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffins: Butter and flour a jumbo 12-cup muffin tin (or two 6-cup muffin tins). In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, sour cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. With mixer on low, beat flour mixture into butter mixture.

Divide half the batter among prepared muffin cups. Top with half the streusel mixture, then remaining batter, and top with streusel. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Blueberry Bran Muffins

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Let me start by saying that I didn't love how this recipe turned out, but I'm guessing it was my error as I usually have success with food network recipes... I used frozen blueberries, I think fresh ones probably would be better because I think my blueberries changed the liquid to dry ingredient ratio.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups raisin bran cereal
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. and grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
2. Toss cereal with sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk oil, egg, and buttermilk. Add buttermilk mixture to cereal mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in blueberries and spoon into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. I would leave them in as long as possible without letting the tops burn.

Make sure to have a helper/taste tester handy -

Healthy Lemon Raspberry/Blueberry Muffins

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I found this recipe on Pinterest last week. I've generally been trying to eat better since we got back from our trip in hopes that it will help me win the DietBet and also when I'm eating healthier food I feel better running, no surprises there. Anyways I did commit to baking weekly with the blog so I thought I should research some better recipes. I think this one is OK, not super healthy but better than some of the baked goods I would buy or normally bake. A lot of eating healthier for me is less about the choices I'm making (I'd say 90% of the time I'm good at making healthy choices especially eating at home) and more about portion control anyway. So i've been opting for a half of one of these muffins at breakfast with my coffee and some fruit and I save the other half for after a run as a treat. Anyways the recipe I found at EatingWell.com uses more lemon than I did and I also added blueberries.

INGREDIENTS
1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen but not thawed)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen but not thawed)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees ferenheit. Coat muffin tin with cooking spray or paper liners. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the lemon in long strips (I probably only did about half the lemon and it still turned out pretty "lemony"). Combine the zest and sugar in a food processor; pulse until the zest is very finely chopped into the sugar. Add buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla and pulse until blended. Combine whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in raspberries and blueberries.

I was worried at this point because the batter was less like traditional muffin batter and more thick and dough like, however not to worry they turned out good. 

Bake muffins until the edges and tops are golden, 20 to 25 minutes (20 minutes was enough for my oven). Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve warm.