Lemon Berry Muffins

In an attempt to eat breakfast more frequently, I've started making these muffins for Ryan and me on Sundays. They are quick to make, and surprisingly healthy (about 185 calories and 7 grams of fat per muffin) - to make them even healthier use whole wheat flour. You can experiment with whatever type of berries you like - raspberries make them very tart, blueberries are a nice compliment to the lemon also and tone down the tartness. I'm thinking the next time I make these I'm going to put a 1/2 tsp of lavender in the processor with the lemon and sugar to see how that changes the flavor.

Before

After

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients
1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp real vanilla extract
2 cups flour (wheat, white or half and half)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup frozen berries (any type or mixed - whatever you like)

Pre-heat oven to 400

Peel rind off lemon with a vegetable peeler, avoiding white pith.  Place rind and sugar into a small food processor and pulse until lemon is well chopped and blended with sugar.  Put lemon sugar into a medium bowl, and add buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla.  Stir with whisk to mix and set aside.

In a larger bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour through salt) and then add wet ingredients to dry and stir with spatula to mix.  Add frozen berries and gently fold into batter.

Spray a muffin pan with oil and using a large spoon (I like my soup spoons for this part) scoop a spoonful of batter and place into each muffin cup.  Bake for 25 minutes or until brown on top.

Remove from oven and eat one or two while they are hot just to make sure they turned out ok :)

Once cool, place them in a ziploc bag and store in the fridge - they'll last you all week!

Pumpkin-Walnut Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 can of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 cups sifted flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Combine in large mixing bowl and cream together: butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Fold in Pumpkin puree, and slowly add in half-and-half.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold into wet mixture. Stir in vegetable oil. Add in chopped walnuts. In a lined muffin pan, fill cups full. Should make 12 very full muffins.

Streusel Top:
Combine 1/3 cup sifted flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup cubed chilled butter. Mix together with a fork and knife, until large pearl sized clumps are formed. Sprinkle topping over muffin batter.

Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes.