recipe: whole grain lemon blueberry cornmeal muffins

My Mom, a.k.a. “Grandma”, has recently taught my three-year-old son John, a very valuable phrase. While I appreciate the lesson in manners, “it’s not to my taste” seems to be the only thing we hear lately - especially around 6 p.m.

John is definitely going through a picky phase (sigh).  No casseroles, stews or stir-fry’s for this kid.  All food must be separate and without sauce – even ketchup!  At least he still eats a wide variety of fruits and vegetables…

One thing John never has a problem eating is dessert – big surprise. So I’m doing my best to make sure that any sweets he eats contain at least a wee bit of nutritional value.  

Here is a recipe for whole grain lemon blueberry cornmeal muffins.  The recipe comes from corporate chef, Rachel Bradley, who develops some of the recipes for the amazing line of olive oils & balsamic vinegars that we carry in the shop.  Rachael says “these muffins may look sinful but they’re not thanks to the addition of whole wheat flour, lemon extra virgin olive oil, honey, yogurt, and fresh berries”.  These lightly sweetened muffins are divine served with butter and jam for breakfast or drizzled with honey and served with afternoon tea.

Whole Grain Lemon Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins

ingredients

·        2 (two) cups whole wheat flour or all purpose flour

·        2 (two) cups ground whole grain corn meal
·        1 (one) tablespoon baking powder
·        1 (one) teaspoon salt
·        1 (one) cup whole milk
·        2 (two) large eggs
·        ½ (one-half) cup whole milk yogurt (I used vanilla-flavoured Greek yogurt)
·        ½ (one-half) cup honey
·        ½ (one-half) cup lemon extra virgin olive oil
(you can substitute regular olive oil but the cake won’t be as lemony)
·        fresh grated zest from one lemon
·        2 (two) cups fresh or frozen blueberries

method

·        Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

·        Grease or line muffin cups or an 8” by 8” brownie pan (when I tested the recipe, I poured the batter into an 8” by 8” pan to make a “cake” and I had enough left over batter to make 8 small muffins as well).
·        In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
·        In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients and lemon zest.
·        In two separate additions, add the wet ingredients to the dry, scraping down the bowl.  Gently fold in the berries.  Fill the muffin cups about half way with batter.
·        Bake in the center of oven for 20-25 (twenty to twenty five) minutes until a tester inserted in to the middle comes out clean. 
(Note: an 8” by 8” cake will take closer to 40 minutes in the oven).  
·        Makes 18-20 standard size muffins or one 8” by 8” cake and 8 small muffins.