 Whole-Wheat Muffins)
Oh muffins, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… First, you can serve these muffins as part of breakfast, lunch, or just by themselves as a snack. Second, they really are easy to make and with so many possibilities of what you can add to the muffin batter I am certain you will find a combination that you (and your kids) will love. Third, my kids scarf down their beloved customized versions, and I feel good about what they are eating. And last but not least, they freeze beautifully!!
I definitely have to give credit to my 5-year-old daughter for inspiring me to make these whole-wheat muffins. She got very excited one morning when I asked her what she wanted for breakfast and responded with “blueberry muffins!” We had not made muffins in years and I think she likes the idea of them because, well, the shape is strikingly similar to a cupcake! Once we got started my creative juices started flowing….these don’t just have to be blueberry muffins! I put strawberries in some and some leftover pear that I had on hand in others…and why not raisins? My 3-year-old loves raisins. So anyway, you get the idea how you can take the plain batter and add whatever flavors your heart desires. Make one big batch that’s all the same or each one different…and most importantly, have fun with it!
- 1½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup oil (I used coconut oil)
- ¾ cup orange juice or apple juice
- About 1 cup of total filling (berries, fruit, nuts, etc. – see below for details)
- Muffin/Cupcake liners
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large bowl with a fork or whisk mix the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the eggs, honey, vanilla, oil and orange juice. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together – do not overmix.
- Now here is the fun part. If you are in a hurry just add 1 cup of blueberries, mashed up banana & nuts, or other filling of your choice. If you have 5 or 10 minutes extra (and some anxious helpers) do not add anything to the muffin batter before continuing with the next step.
- Line a muffin pan with liners and fill ⅔ to ¾ of the way full with batter. If you didn’t already add your filling, sprinkle 1 – 2 teaspoons of whatever you would like (from the list below or from your own creation) onto the top of each raw muffin in the pan. Then gently mix each one with a fork or spoon.
Here are some options to consider for the fillings:
- blueberries
- diced strawberries
- peeled and diced pears
- applesauce
- either diced or mashed up bananas and chopped walnuts
- raisins and chopped pecans (I add an extra pinch of cinnamon to the muffins with this filling)
- grated carrot and chopped walnuts
- orange or lemon zest (only add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of zest per individual muffin)
- a mix of dried fruit bits
- jelly - After the filling has been mixed into each muffin slide the tray into the warm oven and bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature and freeze some for a later date.
Enjoy!
Oh, and I also sprinkled some granola on top to give them a little “crunch”.
We made these Friday night. We got 20+ muffins out of it and they were all gone by Sunday evening. Our 4.5 year old helped and had a blast. Not to mention, she ate a majority of them. I didn’t have any “juice”, but used a “smoothie” drink we had and it seemed to work. Maybe lost a little bit of sweetness, but as noted on the blog, the fruit more than made up for it. I would suggest to make sure you FILL it with fruit! You could probably get more muffins out of it that way, too. Also, more ripe fruit is probably best. Needless to say, we will be making these often and I highly recommend these!!!!
[...] them! I think I’ll make them this way from now on. For these muffins, I adapted a recipe from 100 Days of Real Food. I wanted to make blueberry lemon coconut muffins, but I don’t think I added quite enough [...]
I have three boys, ages 11, 7 and 5. And we are new at this adventure, and we are very excited. Today I made this recipe and the muffins are already gone. We loved it!!!
[...] Eggs with homemade zucchini muffins (make ahead on [...]
They were a little dry when I made them. What did do wrong?
Hello Anna. Maybe shorten your cooking time a little? If your oven runs a bit hot, that small amount of time can mean the difference between just right and not quite. Give them another try and watch them closely toward the end. Hope that helps. ~Amy
I have always just made the banana bread into muffins. I can’t believe I have never made these. They were so good. I added chopped strawberries, bananas, blueberries, walnuts and rolled oats (a little extra juice to compensate for all the dry ingredients) and they turned out perfect. I did add extra cinnamon and honey too just because we like it. Do you ever use the Bob’s red mill gluten free all purpose baking mix?
Hello Amanda. Glad you enjoy the recipe! Your version sounds yummy. Lisa’s family has not ventured deeply into the gluten free landscape because they, fortunately, have no sensitivities in their family. I do some gluten free baking but try to stick with 100% whole grain flours. I grind a lot of GF oatmeal into flour. One of our former team members did a post that included some gluten free recipes and grains: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/06/28/food-allergies/. ~Amy
Great recipe! I look forward to trying these! Any idea on the calorie content of the plain batter?
Thanks!!
I made these and they were bitter. Is this the taste of the whole wheat flour or something I did wrong?
Hi Erin. Whole wheat lends a richer flavor compared to white flour but not a bitter flavor. These muffins should taste just sweet enough. Were your ingredients fresh? Whole wheat flour can turn rancid pretty quickly. ~Amy
We are just making the switch to whole wheat. I am having a hard time getting my kids to eat these. Tried banana, blueberry and raisen. I am using olive oil. Would coconut oil change the test? Thanks Karen
Hi Karen. Have you tried using the white whole wheat flour? Also, I never notice a taste difference when baking with coconut oil. Here is a little more on cooking with coconut oil: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/02/07/how-to-cook-with-coconut-oil/. ~Amy
I made these muffins with banana and my kids are loving them. The only problem that occurred was that the muffin stuck the the muffin liner. I tried looking for an answer on the internet but all I am reading to do is to use a spray like PAM, which I don’t want to use. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks so much for this recipe and any suggestions!
Hello Sue. It is normal for the muffins to stick a little to the liners. You could always use an olive oil mister instead of a commercial spray. ~Amy
I see that you use coconut oil for this recipe and I’d like to do the same…since it’s solid unless mixed with something warm, do you have any tips on mixing it in with the rest of the ingredients?
Hi Katie. You need to melt the coconut oil before adding it. Here is some additional information: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/02/07/how-to-cook-with-coconut-oil/. Good luck. ~Amy
Thanks so much! That clears up a lot of confusion!
Looking for ideas to replace the old habit of cupcakes for birthdays. My daughter turns 5 tomorrow and of course, who does not bring cupcakes to school? I will be trying these tonight!
I just made these with 365 Brand Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, coconut oil and 1 1/2 cups of frozen (not thawed) organic blueberries. Delicious! I’m shocked they turned out so sweet with just the juice and 2T of honey. My 9, 6 and 2 year olds loved them. Thanks!
my daughter is allergic to egg – what would you suggest as a substitutue?? Thank you for all you do – you have inspired me to do more for my family!!
Hello,
I really want to try these but I don’t have apple juice on hand but do usually have applesauce. Would it work to sub the applesauce volume for the apple juice? Esp if I use frozen berries? Thanks much, also excited to try white whole wheat flour since I tend to not enjoy reg whole wheat flour….