Blackberry Walnut Muffins

Springtime at last and blackberries are appearing by the truckload at local grocery stores. I can't just leave them there...all plump and juicy and on sale! I must take them home...by the bucketload...I'll figure out how to eat them all later. I could gorge myself until I have a stomach ache and permanently stained blue lips. Or, perhpaps I'll make some muffins...

Blackberry Walnut Muffins

Makes 12 small muffins

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of flax seeds, ground*
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
6 tablespoons of grapeseed oil (or another neutral flavoured oil)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of low-fat plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups (1-6 oz container) of fresh blackberries, each berry cut into threes
1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped

*Flax seeds can be ground in a blender.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Stir in flax seeds. In another bowl combine oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and yogurt. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring until combined. Gently fold in blackberries and walnuts. Spoon the batter into muffin tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, until muffins start to brown. Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes, and then turn onto wire rack.

Apricot Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

Sunday Morning Muffins...

It's getting warmer, which in my house means that baking days are numbered. There comes a time when the little window air conditioner just doesn't cancel out the heat of a gas stove and so recipes will slowly shift towards the no bake/no cook variety. In the meantime...I made some fresh muffins for Sunday breakfast. This recipe is adapted from one in the cookbook "Lean, Luscious and Meatless" by Bobbie Hinman and Millie Snyder.

Apricot Pumpkin Walnut Muffins
Makes 10 muffins

1/2 cup spelt flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil muffin pan. In a large bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix well. Mix in apricots and walnuts. In another bowl combine remaining ingredients and mix until blended. Add to dry mixture and blend just until combined. Pour into muffin cups. Bake 15 minutes. Remove muffins from pan to cool. Leftovers can be stored in the freezer and thawed in the microwave in less than a minute.