Whole Grain Muffins with Variations
Ingredients
Muffins
- 2 1/4 cup freshly-ground flour from hard white wheat
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup honey
Crunchy Topping
- 1/2 c. rolled oats
- 1/2 c. flour
- 1/4 c. raw sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 c. 4 Tbsp. softened butter
Instructions
Muffins
- Measure flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder into large mixing bowl. Add milk, egg, oil, and honey and mix just until blended. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
(Optional) Crunchy Topping
- Mix oats, flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle on muffins before baking. (NOTE: This makes about 1-1/2 - 2 times as much as necessary for a dozen muffins.)
Notes
FRUIT:
Add 1 c. fruit. See below for specific suggestions. (Many of these make pretty moist batters, so you might want to cook them an extra minute or two. Most that call for 1 c. of chopped fruit, or berries, make about 14 muffins.)
BLUEBERRY: Add 1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen) to batter, after mixing all other ingredients. (-OR- Press blueberries into the batter once it's in the pan, to avoid discoloration.)
CHERRY: Add 1 c. fresh or dried (pitted!) cherries to batter, after mixing all other ingredients. (We don't really care for the dried ones.)
APPLE: Add 1 lg. apple, grated, to batter. Sprinkle muffins with cinnamon-sugar before baking. (Makes 15 muffins.)
PEAR: Add 1/2 lg. can (drained) or 1 c. fresh chopped pears. (This was not one of our favorites.)
PUMPKIN: Add 1 c. pumpkin puree with wet ingredients. Add 3/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 1/8 tsp. ground cloves, and 1/8 tsp. nutmeg with dry ingredients. (Makes 16 muffins.)
BANANA: Add 1 mashed banana with the wet ingredients. (Makes 15-16 muffins.)
OTHER VARIATIONS:
SOUR CREAM: Replace half of milk (1/2 c.) with sour cream. Add a handful of nuts to batter, if desired.
MILLET: Add 1/4 c. whole millet to batter. (Best with red wheat or kamut flour)
PEANUTTY: Add 1 c. peanut butter chips and 1/4 c. chopped peanuts. (Makes 14 muffins.)
PEANUT BUTTER: Reduce oil to 2 Tbsp. and add 1/2 c. natural peanut butter plus one extra egg. To mix, combine dry ingredients, cut in oil and peanut butter, then stir in remaining ingredients. Makes 15-18 muffins.
PEANUT BUTTER-BANANA: Add 1/2 c. peanut butter, 1/4 c. chopped peanuts, and 1-1/2 mashed bananas. (Makes 19 muffins.)
HIDDEN KISS: Add 3/4 c. cocoa with dry ingredients. Increase honey to 3/4 c. After filling muffin cups 3/4 full, press a Hershey's Kiss into the center of each, pressing down until it's covered or nearly covered. Reduce oven temperature to 375 and bake for 17 minutes.. Makes 16 muffins.
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE: Add 3/4 c. cocoa to dry ingredients. Add additional 1/4 c. honey to wet ingredients, for a total of 3/4 c. Stir in chocolate chips. Reduce oven temperature a tad. Makes 18 muffins.
MANDARIN-CARROT: Reduce milk to 1/2 c. Add 1/2 (11 oz.) can of mandarin oranges, chopped, with liquid, with wet ingredients. Stir in 3/4 c. grated carrot (2 carrots). Makes 15 muffins.
ORANGE: Add 1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained, and 1 c. sour cream. Bake for an extra minute. Makes 21 muffins.
OATMEAL: Reduce flour to 2 c. Add 1/2 c. oats.
JAM: Add 3/4 c. jam to batter. This makes a very moist dough, so bake it an extra minute or two. (Makes 17 muffins.)
MAPLE: Reduce milk to 3/4 c. and add 3 Tbsp. maple syrup.
CREAM CHEESE-TOPPED: Mix together 8 oz. of softened cream cheese, 3 Tbsp. honey, and an egg. Drop this mixture by tablespoon onto muffins before baking. Bake for about an extra 3 minutes. (There will be extra cream cheese mixture.)
YOGURT: Reduce milk to 3/4 c. and add 8 oz. plain or flavored yogurt. (Makes 16 muffins. NOTE: Yogurt makes very light muffins. The flavor of flavored yogurt doesn't really come through, though.)
HERBED: Add 1-1/2 tsp. basil, 1/2 tsp. ea. marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, and oregano, and 1/2 c. parmesan cheese.