i generally avoid muffins at most bakeries. they are often too cake like and much too sweet for breakfast. muffins were also one of the first things that i started the bake in high school and after all this time, this is the muffin that i always want to bake. if i am eating a pastry for breakfast, i generally want it to be on the healthy side. so this muffin is whole grain, and could potentially be free of refined sugar. this is a blueberry muffin with a banana base so it is very moist without too much added fat. i also think a strusel topping makes any sort of baked good so i wanted to include one here. this strusel used walnuts as the base so even though it is definitly not low fat, it is full of healthy fats. each batch also usually make 10 or 11 muffins and not the usual 12 so act fast or they will be gone soon.
another image is here.
blueberry cornmeal muffins with walnut strusel
adapted from feeding the healthy vegetarian family by ken haedrich
this was one of my first and truly beloved cookbooks. it has been about 8 years (!) since i bought it and i still refer to about once a month. even though i was only cooking for myself most of time, haedrich uses easy to find ingredients and familiar flavors that please most people. if you are just starting out vegetarianism or just want more plant- based meals, i highly recommend this book.
1 1/2 large very ripe bananas
1 egg
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup or packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
about 1/2 cup milk of your choice
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup, maybe a little bit more fresh or frozen blueberries
preheat oven to 400 degrees and line or butter a muffin tin.
mash the banana in a bowl until smooth. i find that heating the banana up in the microwave a bit helps. mix in the sweetner of your choice, oil, and egg, vanilla, and milk. in another bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda, and salt. remove about a tablespoon or two of the flour mixture and toss the blueberries with it. this prevents blueberry sinkage. make a well in the dry ingredient bowl and stir in the wet ingredients just until combined. do not overmix! gently fold in the blueberries. divide the batter into the muffin tin and top with streusel of your choice. bake about 20-25 minutes. test with a toothpick. cool the muffins in the tin for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a rack.
walnut streusel
1/4 cup packed brown sugar. i bet maple sugar would be super tasty in this, although it is super expensive.
1/4 cup oats
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
about 1 1/2 cups walnuts
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp vegetable oil
in the blender or food processor, pulse the brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and salt together until the oats are chopped pretty fine. add the walnuts and pulse about another 4 to 10 seconds to chop the nuts roughly. drizzle in the oil while pulsing a bit more until the mixture comes together. this is very good on muffins and coffee cakes and also very very good on oatmeal. you can also make this with pecans if you do not care for walnuts.
sustenance space 