Whole Wheat Muffins

Do you ever come across a recipe and think, “Now this is just too good to be true?”

That was the first thing that popped into my brain when I first read this recipe, on Wednesday, February 5, the fifth day of the Snowmageddon/Snoverkill lockdown. “Even Bittman can’t come up with a good, doesn’t-turn-into-a-rock-the-second-its-cool 100 percent whole wheat muffin,” was the second. You have to use some white flour to get a little lift. Or at least some vital wheat gluten. Or something else magic.

But I was intrigued enough that on Thursday, February 6, I was whipping these up for breakfast. What can I say, being snowed in for a sixth straight day gives you time to follow spontaneous muffin urges!

And you know what, Bittman was right! These WERE good. Like a white flour muffin, not overly sweet, with a good crumb. As I mulled my shock over a muffin, it hit me–there was a secret ingredient! Mashed or pureed fruit. Not to lend flavor or sweetness so much as to give these muffins that extra lift. I’m so used to using fruit to give flavor, that it hadn’t even occurred to me at first that these muffins used fruit for texture and moisture, with the flavor almost fully masked by the nutty goodness of whole wheat. That Mark Bittman, he is a clever man!

Whole Wheat Muffins
Adapted from Mark Bittman’s The Minimalist column in the New York Times

I’m really a little bit in love with these muffins now. They were so easy to make, they’re so tasty, and I’ve been happily snacking on them out of my freezer for almost a month now! I can’t wait until June, when the blueberries come in and I can mix a fresh pint into this batter–yes I’m already dreaming about the Farmer’s Market. It’s March now, and with only 8 weeks to go until opening weekend, I’m allowed!

Really, there’s no reason for you not to make these for breakfast this Saturday morning. Snow or not, they won’t disappoint.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 to 1 cup sugar, depending on sweetness of fruit (my experience was the muffins were a bit too sweet with 1 cup and pumpkin, so go easy on the sugar if you don’t want them too sweet!)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed or puréed banana, sweet potato, apple, zucchini, cooked or canned pumpkin, or other fruits or vegetables (this is a great way to use whatever you have around!)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup skim milk with 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray one 12 cup muffin pan or one 24 cup mini muffin pan. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the melted butter, your fruit or veggie of choice, egg and buttermilk. Fold wet mixture into dry mixture and stir until just combined. If the mixture seems too stiff (mine did) add a bit more milk.

Fill muffin pan; bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until muffins are golden and puffy. Serve immediately, with a bit of melted butter. If you have any leftovers, these freeze beautifully, especially the mini muffins, which will thaw in about 30 minutes on the countertop.

{ 7 comments } |  Print This Post |  Email This Post |