Like I said, I’m a whole-grain health nut, but every once in a while–when I’m feeling naughty–I make decadent treats like these!
Afterwards, I always repent during my “food hangover,” and go back to making HEALTHY TREATS like these!
February 18, 2009
Raspberries N’ Cream Muffins (Whole Grain)
The cream cheese batter for these muffins makes such a smooth-textured muffin that kids will never notice the whole grain flour!
Instead of white flour, I used a cracked, seven-grain cereal:
You can buy Bob’s Red Mill seven grain cereal at most grocery stores (cereal and baking aisles) or you can buy it here. You can then grind this cereal in your home blender, if the grains are already cracked, like this:
Just toss it in the blender and blend until it looks like flour!
Here’s the recipe:
Raspberries N’ Cream Muffins
2/3 cup cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup canola oil
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
2 egg whites
1 egg
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups fresh-ground, 7-grain flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup regular milk with 1.5 tsp vinegar; let sit 5 minutes)
1/2 cup Raspberry Nuggets*
Beat cream cheese, oil, and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg whites, egg, and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients separately, then fold into cream cheese mixture with buttermilk and raspberry nuggets.
Bake in canola-sprayed muffin tins at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes (mini-muffins) or 18-24 minutes (regular muffins).
These muffins are more of a dessert because they contain cream cheese and sugar and taste like cheesecake! But as far as desserts go, they’re ultra-healthy—how many cheesecakes have *you* eaten that are made from whole grains? 
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*I used raspberry nuggets for the mini-muffins pictured here because I make them in large batches to freeze. Whenever I’m going on the road with the kids, I just grab a bag and go, and I can’t have real raspberries thawing and getting raspberry juice all over my kids’ clothes. You can use real raspberries, instead, though.
February 13, 2009
Sausage-Maple Pancake Muffins
I invented these super-yummy breakfast muffins for my son, who refuses to eat meat. The sausage is hidden inside a scrumptious maple/whole-grain batter and tastes soooo good that even my little meat-hater devoured them!
You can make these two ways. The first is a regular muffin with the sausage patty inside :
The second is a mini-muffin with cooked sausage bits inside:
Either way, these taste SO good that you’ll never want to buy prepackaged breakfast foods again. Best of all, they’re super healthy, with two different grains and no oil or butter!
Here’s the recipe:
Maple Sausage Pancake Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 cups buttermilk (or 3 cups milk w/ 3 tablespoons vinegar, let sit for 5 min. to curdle)
2 large eggs, beaten
1 and 1/2 tsp maple extract
**Prepare and set aside: one 12-ounce roll of sausage (flavored according to your preference) and cook it in patties, or crumbled, or half of both styles.
Combine flours, salt, soda, and brown sugar. Whisk egg and maple extract in the buttermilk, then add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened–batter will be slightly lumpy.
For mini-muffins, fold the pre-cooked, crumbled sausage into the batter until combined.
Spray mini-muffin tins with canola oil cooking spray. Drop batter into the pan using a mini cookie scoop.
Bake at 400 for 8 minutes (mini muffins) or 18 minutes (regular-sized)
Before removing muffins from the pan, trace around their edges with a toothpick to loosen them without tearing or shredding.
Store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator or freezer.
For regular-sized muffins, spray muffin pan with canola oil cooking spray. Drop one ice cream scooper full of batter into tin, add sausage patty, then top with a second scoop of batter.
When I bake these muffins, I usually divide the sausage roll in half; I make one half into patties, the other into crumbled sausage. Then I divide the batter in half and make big muffins for the older kids, minis for the little tykes.
These muffins freeze well, too, so you can double up, make a bunch, and freeze them for quick breakfasts! Just grab ‘em, nuke ‘em, and kids can pop them into their mouths for a quick and tasty sausage and pancake breakfast on the run! Who needs fast food when you’ve got tasty, healthy, and cost-effective meals like this??
