Healthy Granola Muffins
Sometimes breakfast just gets downright boring. Not that there's much time (at least on weekday mornings) for it to be extravagant and interesting, but still.. It's the same old cereal, eggs, oatmeal over and over, ho-hum. Makes it kind of hard to wake up and start a new day. I've been trying to find some easy, new and healthy recipes to liven up the morning routine and these Granola Muffins really fit the bill!
I picked these to test out for three reasons: One, I had leftover granola to finish up; Two, I had buttermilk that had been sitting in the fridge for almost too long and Three, because they're made with White Whole Wheat Flour. Have you ever baked with this kind of flour before? If you haven't and you're making an attempt to eat healthier but still have fun, you really should give it a try. White whole wheat flour as opposed to ordinary white flour, hasn't been stripped of the bran or germ, so it has the same nutritional value as regular whole wheat flour, but is lighter in both flavor and color and behaves more like refined white flour, which makes it good for baking. And for, eating! I would say these have a little more oomph than your average muffin, but definitely don't have that overpowering whole wheat flavor or the accompanying heaviness.
These are really easy--you don't even need a mixer. All you do is mix the dry ingredients together, mix the wet ingredients together, mix the wet into the dry and fill your muffin tins. Then if you like (and I recommend you do) you sprinkle the tops with a little more granola for some added crunch. It's that simple!
These are great at room temperature or you can pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up. We've been enjoying them for breakfast all week now (and I think someone even had one for an after-school snack, too!) So treat yourself and those you love (or at least, like) to one of these tasty muffins and "oh, what a beautiful morning" it will be--Hey, I'm a lyricist, my mind just goes there!
Healthy Granola Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Bake Time: 16-18 minutes; Total Time: About 1/2 hour
Ingredients
- 2 Cups White Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup granola (preferably without raisins or dried fruits, as they tend to burn)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken
- Extra granola for sprinkling on muffin tops
The Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly grease muffin cups or fill with paper liners.
2. Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the vanilla, oil and buttermilk.
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, only to combine. Do not overmix.
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, almost to the top. Sprinkle with the additional granola.
6. Bake the muffins for about 16-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the middle row of muffins comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in pan on rack. Then, remove to rack to finish cooling. Muffins can be eaten when warm or wrap them up after they are completely cool to eat at another time. Muffins keep at room temperature for 4-5 days.
Note: This recipe is based on the King Arthur Buttermilk Granola Muffins
