I love muffins and was so spoiled by my mother’s blueberry muffins, that no store bought or bakery muffin ever really compares to homemade. A few years back, I started making muffins every Sunday morning, an activity that my husband dubbed “The Utility Muffin Research Kitchen” after the Frank Zappa song “The Muffin Man”.
For a beginning baker, muffins are a good introduction and fun to make. They are also amazingly versatile, taking on different grains, fruits etc. I’ve made muffins with every seasonal fruit and used all sorts of flours and grains. And the experiments are usually gone in few days if not sooner.
I had a few cups of Kashi Go Lean left in a Costco sized box. No wanting to waste the end of a box, I searched about for a good recipe on the internet. This one is from Daily Moment, and is very dense and delicious.
I did make a few substitutions. I used flax seed in water instead of the egg. ( Directions can be found here.). While I eat eggs, I find that flax seed adds a bit more moisture to the muffins, along with a subtle nutty flavor.
I also had some blueberries in the fridge so I folded those into the batter instead of the cranberries. As I said above, I love blueberries in muffins.
And since a picture is worth all these words:
I will also do a shout out for the muffin / cupcake liners from If You Care. Along with being chlorine free, they are also pre-greased for baking. No more liners sticking to the muffins! My local market sells them for about $2.00 for a box of 60 but you can get them on line as well.
And of course, I can’t end this without a word from this week’s song sponsor…Frank Zappa.
And now advice from my Mom’s kitchen:
“Always leave enough batter in the bowl for the kids to taste!”
I agree with my Mom here; the fun of watching your kids dive into the batter left in a bowl is a joy. Plus it makes them appreciate the fun of cooking and being in the kitchen. I know it worked for me!
skullwoman 