First things first, this post is dedicated to Margie, who requested I share the muffin recipe 🙂 Secondly, I have to apologize for the title “Magic Muffins”. I came up with it at about 10:30pm last night after deciding that “banana/coconut/whole wheat/craisin/chocolate chip yummy muffins” was both cumbersome and overly descriptive. So while “magic muffins” may be a bit of an over-generous, slightly immature title, it is the best my over-tired mind could come up with as a temporary, place-holder type name. Today I feel well-rested, well-fed, and well-caffinated so there’s really no excuse to stick with a sub-par name, but the name has somehow grown on me. So “Magic Muffins” they shall remain. In my defence they ARE pretty tasty, and I’m a little impressed with them for the simple fact that this is my very first baking recipe devised completely from scratch! I skimmed a few recipes to research proportions, but this one is absolutely original!
See, here is the original recipe :p I'm feeling I need a little pat on the back for this!
So that to me feels a little magical, and besides, it’s fun, right? Maybe it’ll even encourage the kids to enjoy these healthier muffins even more. These muffins are tasty even though they are pretty low-fat and have no added sugar (just a little honey). The coconut, bananas, and add-ins give them enough sweetness and plenty of flavour.
Unfortunately I didn't take a picture when these were fresh! Now I will have to bake a new batch to get a nicer picture, because this one does NOT do them justice. Darn ;)
So, without too much lead in, here is delicious recipe #1!
Magic Muffins
An original recipe. Sorry (NOT sorry) for the colours, it was fun so I had to.
Yields about 18 muffins
Preparation time 20 minutes; baking time 20-25 minutes at 350ºF. Total time: approximately 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup rolled oats (not quick or instant)
- 1.5 cups coconut
- 1 tbsp ground flax
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed (approximately 4 medium bananas)
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of tasty add-ins (example: nuts, raisins, craisins, chocolate chips).
- I used:
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup of craisins
- I used:
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350ºF and prepare the muffin tins (I used paper liners, you can grease your tin if you’d prefer).
- Combine the first eight ingredients (the dry ingredients) in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre.
- Combine the next four ingredients (the wet ingredients) in a medium bowl, mix well, and add to your dry ingredients.
- Mix until the flour mixture is moistened, add chocolate chips and craisins (or your desired add-ins), and scoop into muffin tins. Each muffin cup should be about 2/3 to 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, checking doneness with a toothpick.
- Remove to a rack to cool, enjoy!
Up next, my favourite “healthier” cookie. Remember, healthier does not mean healthy. It is still a cookie, and I still use some butter, sugar, and chocolate chips.
I enjoy clean eating, but I don’t need to go to the point of egg-free, sugar free, gluten-free, wheat-free, nut-free, milk-free, soy-free, fun-free to feel like I’m honouring my body with what I’m eating. No judgement on those of you who do avoid different food groups I understand some people have allergies and intolerances. Some are just disciplined (or obsessed…?) I however do not have any allergies, intolerances, and only a “healthy” level of obsession 😉 So most of the time I try for a healthy balance, which in this case means balancing my cleaner eating with my sanity, and my enjoyment of preparing and eating good food.
This cookie recipe is a seriously modified version of one of my favourite cookie recipes from Company’s Coming: Cookies; Brown Sugar Cookies. It’s been so dramatically changed that I would actually say it’s more “inspired by” than “adapted from”.
Now that's a well-loved cookbook! Bookmarked, dog-eared, and stain covered.
If you have this cookbook the original version is on page 29, but it is barely recognizable in the recipe below. I’ve basically doubled the recipe but not doubled the sugar and fat. Also, the second amount of sugar and fat are cleaner choices. I’ve also used whole wheat flour rather than all-purpose flour and added ground flax, cinnamon and chocolate chips. So, Brown Sugar Cookies was basically just a good jumping off point. 🙂 But credit where credit is due, it was the template I used to develop my new favourite cookie recipe.
Beautiful right?! Can you almost taste them? I can, it takes amazing self-control to not run downstairs and gobble one up!
And here it is, recipe #2!
Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies
Inspired by Company’s Coming: Cookies page 29
This yields a BIG batch. I like to freeze half once they’re baked so I have some yummy cookies on-hand when I don’t have time to bake.
Yields approximately 8 dozen cookies
Preparation time: 20 minutes Baking time: about 30 minutes; 6-8 minutes per pan (or per two pans, depending on what you can fit in your oven). Total time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
- 3/4 cup coconut oil, softened
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- ~3/4 cup of honey I used my dry3/4 measuring cup and filled it to about 2-3mm shy of the top
- 2-3 tsp vanilla
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup ground flax
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1.5-2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cream butter, coconut oil, honey, and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, add vanilla. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients, whisk to combine, and slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix, add chocolate chips, and mix again to incorporate chips.
- Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350ºF for 6-8 minutes. I find 8 minutes about perfect in my oven. Remove to a rack to cool.
These cookies are pretty soft, even with the modifications I’ve made, but not quite as soft and prone to breakage as the originals. Feeling adventurous, try this recipe using 1.5-2 cups of some other favourite add-in rather than chocolate chips. When I made these the “good ol’ fashioned way” I also tried them with craisins, chopped almonds, or chopped pecans +/- chocolate chips. The only limit is your imagination, and what you’ve got on hand!
I hope you’ve enjoyed these recipes. Do you have any favourite healthy remakes you’d like to share, or maybe you’re looking for a healthier version of something? Drop me a comment or email!
Kyla
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