Hi! Before I say anything else, I have a recipe that just must be shared!
They were too DIE for! I (very) significantly modified a pretty old Gourmet recipe for blueberry muffins with streusel topping and the result was just phenomenal. These aren’t your typical Starbucks muffins, but who wants a Starbucks muffin anyway when they pack in around 500 calories each?! These are a bit smaller, though you could make them larger if you desired of course. They are almost like little banana breads in a muffin form.
I get asked a lot about using butter in baked goods. Yall, I went to a traditional French culinary school and baked with butter every day for a year and a half. It was how I was taught and its what I do. I think you can significantly alter the recipe to make it healthier while still using a bit of butter. I’m not a fan of substitutions and using apple sauce is a personal pet peeve. True, I do have fun testing new healthy recipes, but butter is tried and true and a little isn’t going to kill you….or make you fat. These still ring in at only 179 calories per muffin, are 100% whole wheat and are chock-full of fruit. Enjoy one today!
Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins
yields 10 muffins
1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup cane sugar
3 tbsp butter
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 banana, mashed
1.5 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/3 cup soymilk or milk
Preheat your oven to 375.
In a small pot on the stove, melt the butter then remove the pot from the burner. Add the soymilk, the egg, the yolk and mashed banana and whisk well. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Add the wet ingredients and stir only until incorporated. Fold in the blueberries gently.
Spoon batter into 10 greased muffin tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Of course I refused to wait until they cooled down to dive in so mine fell apart. No matter, I ate it hot with Earth Balance and it was probably the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in a very long time (I say that a lot but its true with this!). Ryan’s favorite baked good ever is blueberry banana bread so I can’t wait for him to taste one of these babies!
I did go to the gym before baking this afternoon. I pounded out a sweaty 20 minutes on the Stairmaster (level 9) followed by some forearm planks and crunches. I love the way I feel my legs getting stronger by using the Stairmaster more frequently! I’ve always been so scared of it because, well, its HARD….but like anything else, it gets easier as you keep at it.
Dinner was, as planned, Wisconsin cheddar paninis with avgolemono soup
. I didn’t kill his panini as I did mine! Ryan is a bit leery about soups for some reason, but I knew if I put feta on his, he would eat it. He loved it!
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i looooove lindt chocolate. possibly the best in the world.
also, i seriously wanted to just hug you when i read your butter thoughts. i just love your philosophy so much. and those muffins look divine!
I haven’t read The Time Traveler’s Wife either – but I picked it up today from the library! I can’t wait to read it.
Good luck with Murphy-Goode!
Wow – your entire post made me drool on my computer. How awesome do those muffins look and sound?! I totally agree with you on butter – it’s WAY cleaner as in clean eating than any substitution you can find and a little goes a long way.
Good luck, good luck – I am sending positive vibes that you get the job. Sonoma rocks!
i have a question: what is the difference between WW pastry flour and WW bread flour? could i use WW bread flour in this recipe instead of the pastry flour? or would that result in a heavier muffin??? thanks!!
1. The muffins look amazing, thank you for sharing the recipe, I added it to my ever-growing “blog recipes to try” file.
2. Thank you again! I drank my 1st Amazing Grass (bought with your discount) today and I am in love!
Oh man, the Time Traveler’s Wife. All I can say is get a box of kleenex and keep it handy.
Your muffins look amazing.
Those muffins DO look to die for! And so does that chocolate. I’m gonna need some chocolate soon…
Ok, I have to put in a plug for the TTW. I’m sure it is a fave of dozens of your other readers too, but it truly is my favorite book of all time. PUHLEASE read this book. I say it that way because a couple of my friends found it a bit slow for the first couple chapters and almost gave up, but it is just a delicious read and I think you’ll love it – especially if you are eating that Lindt choc while reading!
I LOVE your outlook on butter
I wish more people thought that way. Everything in moderation, right? those muffins look delish!
Wow your muffins look awesome! Will definately try them
I have also been meaning to read Time Traveler’s Wife!
Yum! I have been on a major blueberry-banana kick lately (in my smoothies & oatmeal), so this recipe sounds perfect!
I love your baking philosophy! It is OKAY to savor some decadence once in a while and 179 kcals is no biggie. I have never heard of Avgolemono Soup. What goes in it? Good luck with Murphy Goode! I will cross my fingers…and toes lol
I just finished reading The Time travelers wife the other day! Its soooo good! I can’t wait for the movie – i love rachel mcadams so i’m even more excited she is playing clare. Enjoy the book!
just wanted to say GOOD LUCK in the top 10!
im greek so i can reply to jenne(reader)that avgolemono is a greek word constisting of two words:avgo=egg and lemono=lemon, we use this word to decsribe the special last phase procedure in certain meals(mainly soups)to combine eggwhites and then the rest of the eggs with lemon and sometimes corn flour(1-2tbsp)to create a thick soup, more velvet ..there are several other great recipes with this mixture avgolemono.
Oh my gosh…those muffins. So beautiful! YUMMMMM!
I LOVE that book! Can’t wait to see what you think of it! Preview? It’s gonna be a movie!? WOO!
Hope your night was great! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for MG =)
I’m really glad that you share what books you’re reading! I’m always looking for a good book. The Time Traveler’s Wife is great! Seriously. You won’t want to put it down!
Mmmm those muffins look amazing – bursting with blueberries!
You’re going to love The Time Traveler’s Wife. I can’t wait to see the movie! Hopefully it’s as good as the book.
The Self recipe of the week was also a blueberry banana muffin!! Yours look absolutely divine….and honestly, after reading In Defense of Food, I say go for the butter. It’s whole, it’s real, and I will chose it over any “spread” making health claims from now on. Way to be real
Best of luck with Murphy- Goode. I would so enjoy following your travels and whatnot out West (and also be incredibly jealous!). Let us know what happens asap!
Those paninis look delicious.
I am a HUGE fan of salt + chocolate. I need to find that ASAP.
I wanted to say – I just made a first attempt at the applesauce substitution in baking and yeah…it didn’t really work. I mean it was fine – but I think for the very few times I eat sweets I feel like there are other ways I can cut back calories.
Good luck in making the top 10! I have my fingers crossed for you!
Jenna, your food always looks so good, but today, you totally outdid yourself! Yum x 10 to the blueberry muffins and chocolate with sea salt! Good luck on the Murphy Goode. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for ya
Yay! Sea Salt Lindt! Holla!
That is tied with the Chili Lindt bars for my favorite chocolate of all time. It’s so perfect and flavorful… all other chocolate either has too chalky or too waxy of a texture after Lindt.
Husband loves the 99% chocolate Lindt, which is a little too much for me (but it keeps me honest and eating only little bites!) but Lindt just came out with 90% chocolate and I might have to add that to the list with the sea salt and chili chocolate. Why am I thinking about chocolate so early in the morning?!
Those muffins look amazing. I made Almond, blueberry cookies yesterday and they were awesome.
those muffins look great. i am currently doing an internship on an organic blueberry farm in california so i definitely need to try these out! (http://ablueberrysummer.wordpress.com/)
Those muffins look so great!!! And the chocolate…I have never seen that flavor! I will have to look for it next time I go shopping.
chocolate with sea salt?! that looks amazing!
thank you for the muffin recipe- the pilot would love those!
I read the Time Travelers Wife a few years ago and it is the ONLY book I have ever reread. Its really good.
Love the muffins!
Only 3 tablespoons of butter anyway, so what is the big deal! It seems like most recipes call for like an entire stick! haha
I’m trying the muffin recipe right now…they’re in the oven. I just wanted to alert you that the recipe calls for baking soda in the ingredients list, but baking powder in the directions. I guessed the correct one was soda…hope I’m right!
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
GOOD LUCK! i knowww youre goign to make it!
and thanks for the recipe, it looks DIVINEEEEE!
I made these muffins last night and they were delicious! Thanks for the recipe!!
ohhh chocolate plus salt = heaven. Where did you find those?
I love your opinion on the butter. Some things are just not worth skimping on! One of the best ways to acheive a healthy, balanced life is to enjoy a little of everything and not stress out about something like a few tablespoons of butter in your muffins!
Just wanted to let you know I tried those muffins and they will be my go-to blueberry muffins from now on. They were AWESOME! I also posted a link from my site (hope you don’t mind).
That soup looks great! Soup and a grilled sandwich is one of my all time favorite meal combos
I agree with you that a little butter won’t kill us — and using applesauce in baked products is also a pet peeve of mine. OTOH, I will often use a banana or pureed prunes with chocolate — that works for me. But I’ve always found baked goods with applesauce to be dry.
I love, love, loved the Time Traveler’s Wife. I read it several years ago, long before there was a whisper of a movie, and have reread it several times over the years. I’ve always been fascinated with the time travel theme.
Those muffins look awesome! Quick question though, you say baking soda in the recipe and baking powder in the directions…which one to use?
Baking muffins made with your recipe as I type… Being disappointed by a new book is no fun. Here are a few great reads to add to your list: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall & Labyrinth by Kate Mosse.
Time Traveler’s Wife is one of my favorite books ever! Its an amazing love story. You will not be able to put it down!
Ahh! This is such a food porn post!!
That chocolate looks divine, I love salty chocolate, I’ll have to check it out!
Crossing my fingers, toes and eyes for you!!
I’ve got the muffins in the oven now
They smell amazing!
Hi Jenna,
I just made your muffins today – they were delicious! I was wondering if you had any ideas for healthy ‘struesal’ topping?
Thanks,
Nora
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