Basic Whole Wheat Muffins

This is a great base recipe for muffins. You can use this and then have fun trying different ingredients for variety, texture, and flavor. To sweeten the muffins, I generally like a combination of maple syrup and fruit or fruit and sugar. This keeps the batter moist and brings a balance of strong and fruity sweetness. If you use only sugar, this will greatly reduce the amount of liquid in the batter, and you will need to compensate for this when you add the juice at the end.

4 cups whole wheat flour (can substitute about 1 cup unbleached flour or other grains like cornmeal, rolled oats, or ground flax seed)

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup softened butter or oil

2 eggs

1 cup sweetener (honey, maple syrup, fruit jam, applesauce, sugar, or a mixture)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (if using almonds, substitute almond extract; use other flavors like lemon or maple for added flavor)

1 to 2 cups apple juice or milk of your choice

1 cup fruit such as blueberries, diced apples, or diced peaches (optional)

1 cup chopped nuts, seeds, or shredded coconut (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin tin.
• Place the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl and stir with a fork or a whisk to combine. In another bowl, stir together the butter, eggs, sweetener, and vanilla extract.
• Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir just until blended. Add as much of the apple juice or milk as needed to make the batter creamy, slightly sticky, and wet, but not too thin. Stir in any fruit and nuts you are using. Spoon the batter into the oiled muffin pans and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Banana–Cranberry Muffins
• Although bananas are never local in the Midwest, they are a great ingredient in baked goods, very popular with kids, and a good source of vitamins and nutrients. I try to buy local, seasonal foods, but bananas are an exception I make throughout the year. Local fresh cranberries start to appear in stores in autumn, which makes them a great choice after other berries are out of season. If you use dried cranberries, choose unsweetened berries. Use 1 cup of coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries and 2 mashed bananas and add less liquid to the batter.

Blueberry–Cashew Muffins
• Be sure to drain the liquid from the blueberries and add them last so they don’t turn the muffins blue. Use 1 cup of blueberries and 1 cup of coarsely chopped toasted cashews.

Squash–Pecan Muffins
• Use 2 cups of cooked, mashed squash and add less liquid to the batter to compensate for the moisture in the squash. Add 1 cup of toasted chopped pecans and 1 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg.

MAKES 12 MUFFINS