Strawberry muffins

I found a recipe for strawberry muffins on the inside of a Stonyfield Farms yogurt container. They looked reasonably healthy and we had all of the ingredients on hand, so Gabby and I tried them out. What I liked about the recipe was that it contained whole wheat flour, not too much sugar, plain yogurt in place of the oil, but still some butter for flavor. I really liked the texture that resulted from the yogurt...the muffins were moist, but not greasy. I thought the flavor was ok but a little flat, and I also wanted to reduce the amount of white flour in the muffins. I tweaked the recipe and made them again with my adjustments, and I thought they turned out fantastic.

Now, if you are used to the storebought muffins that are practically cupcakes, these might be a bit too fibrous for your liking. But if you like a whole-grainy, less sweet muffin that is nutritious enough for breakfast and not just snacks, you will love it! Not to mention, the recipe is simple enough to throw together that it makes for a fun afternoon with a toddler who is always asking, "MOM! Can I halp yooooooooo? I wan halp!" while leaning with all their weight on the Kitchen Tower that is parked right outside the kitchen.

Here is my adjusted (perfected) recipe:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup oat bran
3 tablespoons milled flax seed
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt (I used Stonyfield Farms lowfat...which is where I got the recipe)
1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 a stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 and 1/2 cups chopped strawberries (blueberries are good too!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin pan with papers or use cooking spray. Combine the first 10 ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix eggs, yogurt, butter, and vanilla. Toss the fruit into the dry mix, then pour the yogurt mixture in and stir just until combined. Spoon into muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Yields 12 muffins.


The changes I made:

The original recipe called for 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of white flour. Instead of using the full cup of white, I used a half cup, plus a third cup of oat bran and 3 tablespoons of flaxseed. I use that ratio a lot...if something calls for 2 cups of flour, I use 1 cup of whole wheat, and the other cup is the white/oat bran/flax combo.

The original recipe did not contain salt, cinnamon, or nutmeg...those were all my additions because I thought the muffins lacked flavor. The cinnamon and nutmeg turned out to be just enough to give them some taste, but not so much to give them a "spiced" flavor. If I ever decide to sub apples or shredded carrot/zucchini for the fruit, I would up it to 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp nutmeg, since I think those things would be good in a spicier muffin. Maybe throw a half teaspoon of ground cloves or allspice as well.

The original recipe contained 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda but no powder. And the muffins turned out a little on the flat side. I looked at some other tried and true muffin recipes I had, and most contained baking powder. So the second time I used a teaspoon of each and liked the results.

The original recipe just called for a cup of fruit, and I used a cup and a half. Just because I like a lot of "stuff" in my muffins.

Try 'em out, see what you think!