Sweet Morning Muffins
Good News Muffin Lovers! You can now get your morning muffin “fix” without going into calorie, fat and sugar overload. Yogurt and applesauce provide the moistness that is missing from many “healthy” muffins and whole wheat pastry flour provides a mild nutty taste and great “crumb.” Pop one into your kids’ lunch boxes, just promise you won’t tell them I sneaked in some zucchini for an added punch of “green.”
Yield: 12 standard muffins (or about 36 mini's)
Yield: 12 standard muffins (or about 36 mini's)
Ingredients
- 12 paper muffin liners
- Olive oil spray
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar see MPM Mini-Bites for more info
- 1/4 cup almond oil or olive oil
- 1/4 cup natural unsweetened applesauce like Musselman’s
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 small orange about 1 tablespoon
- 1 cup grated zucchini about 1 medium
- 1/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries I like Eden's apple juice-sweetened
- 1/3 cup sliced toasted almonds coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Lightly coat liners with olive oil spray. If not using liners, coat pan lightly with olive oil spray.
- Gently spoon flour into measuring cups; leveling with a butter knife. In a medium bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger, sifting mixture twice. Stir in oats and ground flax seed.
- In a large bowl, using a spatula or wooden spoon, lightly beat eggs. Add coconut palm sugar, oil, applesauce, yogurt, vanilla and orange zest, mixing well.
- Gradually, fold flour mixture into egg mixture just until combined. Do not over-mix. Fold in grated zucchini, raisins or dried cranberries and chopped almonds.
- Allow batter to rest for 30 minutes. Divide batter equally into prepared muffin cups.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until muffin tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins to a rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Make Ahead and Storage Tips: store muffins covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Muffins may also be wrapped individually and frozen for up to 3 months for a readily available, portion-controlled treat.
Coconut Palm Sugar: read more about this healthier sweetener here.
If you prefer not to use coconut palm sugar, you can use an equal amount of cane sugar.
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: While not gluten-free, whole wheat pastry flour is lower in protein and gluten and therefore easier to work with than many gluten-free flours. However, for those with gluten sensitivity, this flour may not be an appropriate choice.
Although it takes a bit of extra effort, sifting whole wheat pastry flour is important as it helps create a light texture for your baked goods. Letting the batter sit for 30 minutes before baking, allows the fiber in this flour to absorb the liquid. This will help produce a more tender muffin that rises nicely.
Additional tips for using whole wheat pastry flour can be found here.
Gluten-free Muffins: substitute an equal amount of gluten-free baking flour mix such as Bob’s Red Mill plus 1/2 + 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum in place of the whole wheat pastry flour. (But do make sure the rest of your dry ingredients are gluten-free as well.)
