Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Confession time: I kind of don’t really like muffins. Like, at all. While they’re meant to be wholesome, they’re often much too sweet and much too dense for my taste. Also, if it looks like a cupcake and is sweet like a cupcake, it better be a friggin’ cupcake.

It’s a shame, because if done correctly, a muffin can be a great breakfast. Packed with nuts and grains, fresh fruit and oats in a naturally transportable shape, they could easily best the grab-and-go granola bar in terms of convenience and healthfulness.

So when I unintentially woke up at 7:30 this morning, I decided to use the extra hours to make a better breakfast muffin, something I could eat with a dollop of yogurt, and more importantly, without a twinge of “I’m eating cake for breakfast” guilt.

After searching for a few minutes on my phone while lying in bed long and hard for a recipe that included only ingredients we already had, I landed upon one from Eating Well magazine. I had to adapt it to since I only had fresh blueberries and chopped walnuts, and I rejected the loaf pan for a Texas-sized muffin tin.

It’s a quick recipe involving just two mixing bowls and a fork, packed with fresh berries that go soft and slumpy in the oven and an inherent nuttiness that comes from the whole wheat flour and, obviously, the walnuts.

These whole wheat blueberry muffins were just barely sweet (my parents thought they could use a little more sugar), light and pillowy — far from the dense, saccharine offerings I’m used to. While they may not have made me a muffin convert just yet, a few more and I may be singing a different tune.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
Adapted from Eating Well

With 2/3rds cup of sugar, these muffins were very slightly sweetened. I preferred them this way (I was going a better breakfast muffin, after all) but if you like them a little sweet, 3/4 cup of sugar might be best.

– 1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour*

– 1 cup all-purpose flour

– 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

– 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

– 1/4 teaspoon salt

– 2 large eggs

– 1 cup buttermilk**

– 2/3 – 3/4 cup brown sugar, based on your preference for sweetness

– 2 tablespoons butter, melted

– 2 tablespoons canola oil

– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

– 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

– 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

– 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

*You can also use whole wheat pastry flour, which is finer than regular whole wheat flour and makes for a less dense muffin (though these were pretty light even with the whole wheat)

**If you, like me, hardly ever have buttermilk on hand, stir 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into 1 cup of milk and let it sit for 10 minutes, so that it curdles.

1) Preheat the oven to 400°F and butter a 12-cup regular or 6-cup extra-large muffin tin.

2) Whisk the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl.

3) Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, brown sugar, butter, oil, vanilla and almond extract in another large bowl until well combined.

4) Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. Add the blueberries and nuts. Stir just to combine — do not overmix. Fill each muffin tin until it’s 3/4 full.

5) Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the muffin pan halfway, until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let them cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then use a knife to cut around each muffin and loosen it from the edges. Turn out onto a wire rack and let cool.

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