cinnamon flax muffins

These tasty little treats look like bran muffins but are made with flax. The texture is perfect and they are fiber and nutrient rich (so drink plenty of water). They are great plain or for a more decadent treat top with plain greek yogurt, mascarpone, or butter plus some honey or jam. Adapted from Trim Healthy Mama.

makes 12 muffins (well it is supposed to but I always seem to get one less muffin out of a recipe :)

Ingredients:

wet:
3 eggs and 3 egg whites
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. water
3 Tbsp. coconut oil (melted or olive oil)
1 tsp. vanilla
dry:
2 cups flax meal (I used mostly golden flax seeds - just grind it them in the blender) or you can mix 1 1/2 cups flax with with almond meal or ground dried coconut (what I chose) just as long as it adds up to 2 cups
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
4 Tbsp. cinnamon (yes, you read that right, tablespoon not teaspoon)
1/4 cup sweetener like honey or molasses or the equivalent in stevia (I used coconut sugar and stevia)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º

1. Put flax (or the mix you choose) in a large bowl.

2. Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and sweetener (if it is a dry form). Mix well.

3. Blend wet ingredients (including sweetener if it is wet) in blender for 20 seconds. Add to dry, mix well, then let sit for 5 minutes to thicken.

4. Place in greased muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes (check at 19 minutes)

lemony quinoa apricot muffins

These little goodies are also delicious gluten free; just substitute whole wheat flour for an all purpose gluten free flour.adapted from prevention magazine

makes 10-12 muffins

ingredients:

3/4 cup milk

3 Tbsp. canola oil

1 egg

zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 cup cooked quinoa*

1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

directions:

1. Heat oven to 350º. Line or grease muffin pan. Whisk milk, oil, egg, lemon zest, and vanilla in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir into wet ingredients.

3. Fold in cooked quinoa and apricots. Divide in muffin pan. Bake 30 minutes. Makes 10-12 muffins.

*cover 1 cup quinoa with water and soak for at least 15 minutes. Rinse well in strainer. Heat in pot with 1 1/4 cup water. Bring to boil then simmer covered for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest 5 minutes.

pumpkin cream cheese muffins

these are a fun and healthy treat with a surprise filling
adapted from annies-eats.com

makes 21-24 muffins

Ingredients

for the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. honey

for the muffins:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

for the topping (optional):
4 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
7 Tbsp. rolled oats
3 Tbsp. turbinado (coarse) sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces

1. To make the filling combine the cream cheese and honey in a bowl. Beat with mixer until smooth. Transfer to a pastry bag and pipe 24 equal dollops onto parchment or wax paper. Freeze until firm, at least 3 hours.
2. To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line muffin pans with paper liners or grease. In medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda; whisk to blend. In a large bowl combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin, oil, and applesauce. Mix until blended. Add in dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
3. To make the topping, combine flour, oats, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. whisk to blend. Add in the butter and cut into try ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks (or handy dandy tupperware food mixer) until mix is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to refrigerator until ready to use.
4. To assemble muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom (about 1 Tbsp). Place the dollop of cream cheese on top. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, covering the cream cheese completely. Sprinkle each with topping if desired.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving (because the filling is hot).

pumpkin bran muffins

A healthy fall treat. Great for breakfast, snack, or along with soup.
adapted from womansday.com

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup wheat bran

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 eggs

2/3 cup buttermilk (or add slightly less than 1 Tbsp. vinegar to milk)

1/4 cup oil or applesauce (if you choose applesauce then spraying the paper liners helps the muffins not to stick)

orange mascarpone cream for serving (optional) Mix mascarpone with orange zest and honey to taste

1. Heat oven to 400ºF. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat bran, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a separate large bowl whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, buttermilk, and oil (or applesauce).

4. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Divide the batter between the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

5. If desired serve the muffins with orange cream.