Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

The recipe for these muffins are a riff on a previous recipe I posted for Cranberry-Orange Muffins. Besides the obvious substitution of lemon and blueberries for the orange and cranberries, I adjusted the fat called for in the recipe by using a combination of organic butter, organic canola oil and ground golden flax seed.  The texture of the baked product was not comprimised...just as moist and tender as before. On my next attempt, I think I will completely omit the butter and use equal amounts of canola oil and ground flax seed. My reasoning for mixing up the fat is in an attempt to reduce my saturated fat intake since saturated fat creates an inflamation response in the body while plant based fats (olive, canola, etc) are considered unsaturated, thus creating an anti-inflamatory response in the body.  Play with this sometime...cut the saturated fats out of your daily diet for a month or so, then introduce back in if only for a day. I did and immediately felt a difference with my joints, particularly in my hands.

3 tablespoons of ground flax can be substituted for 1 tbsp oil.

Ground Flax seed can be used as an egg replacer as well.  For each egg to be replaced, blend in a blender/food processor 1 tablespoon flax seed with 3 tablespoons water until the mixture is thick and creamy. If this seems a bit messy (I thought so), grind your flax seed in a dedicated spice grinder (aka coffee grinder) then add to water that has already been measured and placed in a small bowl. Mix well.
Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

makes 12 muffins

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used Prairie Gold Wheat Montana brand)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp organic butter, melted & cooled
3 tbsp organic canola oil
3 tbsp ground golden flax
2/3 cup organic cane sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 lemon, zested* & juiced (reserve juice--use for high alt. adjustments)
1 cup buttermilk (our store does not carry organic)
6 oz clam shell fresh bluewberries (approx 1 1/2 cups)
1 tbsp demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line muffin tins with paper liners.
Add first four ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
Whisk remaining ingredients, minus 1 tbsp demerara sugar and blueberries, in a medium mixing bowl.
Using wooden spoon, or spatula, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; mixing just until combined. Fold in blueberries.
Fill muffin cups almost full. Sprinkle tops of muffins with demerara sugar.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until done when tested with a toothpick in the center.

High Altitude Adjustments:
 •baking powder-reduce by 1/4 tsp
 •sugar-reduce by 1 tbsp
 •liquid-add 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
 •oven temperature-increase 25 degrees
 •decrease baking time approx 5 minutes

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Holy frijoles!! Has it really been over a month since my last post? I have it in my head that I would like to post weekly...perhaps I need to master monthly posts first? Ahem!!

Last night I knew I wanted to make some type of muffin this morning to go along with my latte, so I assessed my refrigerator fruit bin and decided upon cranberry muffins.  I had a bag leftover from Christmas....I planned on stringing them to place on my tree, but that endeavor was quickly aborted as the season went into full swing.

I have a great little muffin cookbook and have used it to make these, but I was sitting with my notebook in my lap and started cruising the web.  I looked at several, but settled on a recipe from a fellow blogger...Caroline over at Whipped. She lives in Chicago which has an elevation just under 600ft. Elevation is something I take into consideration when researching recipes to use while living in our little mountain town with an elevation of 5,500ft.

My basic modifications for high altitude baking consist of reducing the leavening agent by 1/4 tsp, adding 1/8-1/4 cup flour and increasing oven temperature 25 degrees.  However, I remembered reading about high altitude baking adjustments in a new book "Santa" blessed me with.  This book is nothing but brilliant.  The information in this book seems to go on infinitely...definitions for just about any food item you could imagine, along with an expanded glossary section that covers major protiens, grains, cheeses, spices, wines, etc...and the list goes on.  Needless to say, I highly recommend heading on over to Amazon right now...just buy it...you'll be happy you did. I have included high altitude modifications I made for this recipe near the end of the post.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

makes 12 muffins

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used Wheat Montana brand)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup organic butter, melted & cooled
2/3 cup plus organic cane sugar (plus 1 tbsp reserved for muffin tops)
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 orange, zested* & juiced (reserve juice--use for high alt. adjustments)
1 cup buttermilk (our store does not carry organic)
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, rough chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line muffin tins with disposable paper liners.

Add first four ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

Whisk remaining ingredients, minus reserved tbsp sugar and chopped cranberries, in a medium mixing bowl.

Using wooden spoon, or spatula, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; mixing just until combined. Fold in cranberries.

Fill muffin cups almost full. Sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining 1 tbsp sugar. Bake 20-25 minutes or until done when tested with a toothpick in the center.

*When using a microplane to zest your citrus...use as shown in the picture below. The underside of the microplane acts as a repository and you'll easily be able to visualize the quantity.

High Altitude Adjustments:

• baking powder-reduce by 1/4 tsp
• sugar-reduce by 2 tbsp
• liquid-add 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• oven temperature-increase 25 degrees
• decrease baking time approx 5 minutes

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

It's that time of year again...my favorite season by far. There is a bite to the morning air, the leaves are a gorgeous mixed array of red, yellow and orange....and there are squash, apples and pumpkins.  With the harvest comes an assortment of seasonally appropriate comfort foods that can be made.  For me, apple pie, curried butternut squash soup and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are what comes to mind...let's talk about the latter.

My first experience with this muffin was years ago (trust me, long enough that it makes me feel like an "old-timer" to mention) while living in Washington state. There was a bakery open for the early commuters and I would stop by most Fridays for an end-of-the-week treat. The bakery was very progressive for the area and era in that they focused on using whole grains, healthier fats and reduced sugars.  There were over a dozen different muffin selections on any given day along with cinnamon rolls, breads and soups.

For years I longed for the recipe on making these spice scented-chocolaty gems.  OK, again this was before the Internet and google searches. I eventually found it in an unsuspecting, cute little cookbook and I've been using it ever since.  I wouldn't declare this recipe as being particularly healthy, but they're good none the less.  I make these muffins only once or twice a year.  The recipe calls for the use of pumpkin pie spice. I never seem to have this spice blend in my repertoire.  And even though I've read many a substitution list providing the breakdown, did I ever write it down?? No, not until five years ago when I was tired of having to look it up each time. And yes, now I use google :o)  What I finally did was jot it down in the book on the page of the recipe!  Yeah, I know, crazy talk, right?? Seems pretty "normal" at this point in my life, but there was a day that even a butter smudge in my beautiful cookbooks were disappointing. Well, I'll have you know I'm way past that now...it kinda "warms my heart" to stumble upon a recipe in a cookbook with splatters, stains and comments....it says...yep, it's a good one!!  So today is two-for one day...here's a recipe for the spice blend and the delicious muffins I adore.

There are many recipes to be found online for this spice blend.  I use www.foodsubs.com as a reference on a regular basis.  Other sites have mentioned cloves in place of allspice.  Make both versions to see what your preference is.

PUMPKIN PIE SPICE

makes 1 tablespoon

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4    tsp ginger

3/8    tsp allspice

3/8    tsp nutmeg

Mix ingredients together.

If you want to make a larger batch, make sure to store in an airtight container.

This muffin recipe goes together within 10 minutes. Just think, in a little over 30 minutes you can have warm muffins with your Sunday morning latte! I provided the recipe just as it appears in the book. I seldom add the toasted almonds as they're perfect without the crunch. Most times I use Wheat Montana's Prairie Gold whole wheat pastry flour. And per the usual, I use organic cane sugar, organic unsalted butter and kosher or sea salt. High altitude adjustments can be found at the bottom of the post.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

makes 12 muffins

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (I used Wheat Montana Prairie Gold)

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease muffin cups or use paper or foil liners.  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs, pumpkin puree and butter. Add chocolate chips.  Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.  Scoop batter evenly between muffin cups.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until puffed and springy to the touch in the center. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

High Altitude adjustments for 5,500 ft

• Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees
• Increase flour by 1/4 cup
• Decrease baking soda by 1/2 tsp
• Use half butter, half safflower oil