Muffin of the Week: Healthy Muffins

I love muffins, but sometimes I feel like I am eating dessert for breakfast. Although I love eating dessert for breakfast, my conscience has started to kick in and there is a little pang of guilt inside for eating something as yummy and sweet as a cupcake-in- disguise. So in my search for muffins, I decided to, every once in a while, make some that are really healthy, too.

But have you ever had those muffins that are as hard as a rock and taste bland? You just know they are probably healthy for you, but they are impossible to choke down? I have. Those aren’t muffins; they are paper weights. So my goal was to find a really yummy muffin that is chock-full of healthiness. Did I succeed?

I think YES!

They have a great flavor and texture. They taste like cinnamon and nutmeg and they are crunchy from the flax seed and millet, without being too crunchy. I personally don’t like nuts in desserts or breads  so these muffins are perfect for me. They have little spots of crunch, but it doesn’t feel like it is full nuts (just little, cute seeds).

 

Ingredients:

• 1 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 C. whole wheat flour
• 3 TBSP Flax seed (or flaxseed meal)
• 2 TBSP. millet
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 C. low-fat buttermilk
• 3 TBSP. honey
• 1 C. light brown sugar
• 4 TBSP. smart balance butter substitute, melted
• 1 large egg and 2 egg whites
• 1/4 C. golden raisins
• 2 TBSP. sunflower seeds, divided

Directions:

1. Combine flours, flax seeds, millet, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl and stir well.
2. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, honey, sugar, smart balance, and eggs, and whisk well. Add to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in raisins, walnuts, and half of the sunflower seeds. Note: You might be wondering if it is actually important to mix the dry and wet ingredients separately. I tell you, Yes, it does matters. At least for muffins. You want them mixed separately before you combine them so that you can stir as few times as possible when it is time to combine the wet and dry. If you stir it too much, it will over stimulate the gluten and your muffin will come out with a strange texture and it will probably be harder than desirable.
3. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and sprinkle the remaining sunflower seeds on top of the muffin batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 375 degrees or until the tops are golden.

Note: I used powdered buttermilk. If you use regular buttermilk your muffins will be more golden than brown. Just don’t over mix!

To see last week’s muffin click here. You might also like this or this.

 

Recipe adapted by Susan on Foodblogga.com