Rebekah's Insights

Warning: Declaration of categories_plugin::SkinTag($params) should be compatible with Plugin::SkinTag(&$params) in /home/scher3/public_html/blogs/plugins/_categories.plugin.php on line 0

1 cup dried tart cherries (I use Welch's. They are sweetened.)
2/3 cup soy flour
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp demerara sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
5 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
(OPT.) 1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 Tbsp demerara sugar

Combine cherries, flours, baking powder, and soda in bowl. Combine sugar, egg, buttermilk, butter, and extracts in separate bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients until blended and spoon into greased muffin tins. Before baking, sprinkle final Tbsp of sugar evenly over twelve muffins. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for twenty minutes or until brown.

Yields one dozen muffins.

Serving Suggestion: Serve for breakfast with yogurt.

A FEW NOTES ON THIS RECIPE:

I originally tried this recipe with lemon flavoring and decided that I really don't care for lemon flavored baked goods much anymore, so I went with almond--an excellent pairing with cherries. :) If you like lemon, substitute lemon extract for the almond variety and add a bit of lemon zest. It is great if you like lemon.

These are intended to be HEALTHY muffins and to provide between 4 and 5 grams of protein per muffin. If you're looking for the type of muffins made entirely with refined white flour to be eaten as a dessert/treat, you may well find the texture a tad on the grainy side (due to part whole-wheat flour) and may find them not sweet enough if you're expecting them to be more like a cup cake.

(I find them sweet enough, but I generally cut the sugar down in recipes, finding many of them too sweet--like a cake. I happen to really LIKE the texture created by refined white flour, but like to do a mix with whole wheat to create a breakfast treat that I can feel good about feeding to my children. I am told that if you can find whole wheat PASTRY flour, it allows the texture to remain much more like refined flour. I, at the present time, I have no access to such a delightful-sounding flour.)

One-third of the flour in this recipe is soy flour--making the muffins MUCH higher in protein than if you used entirely standard wheat flour. The soy flour will also enhance the browning of the bread, however, the already short baking time required for muffins should prevent them from browning before the muffins are fully cooked. If you attempt to bake this batter in bread pans instead, you may need to lower the baking temperature some or shorten the baking time. Mine were perfectly brown when perfectly done, but everyone's ovens vary!

Let me know if anyone tries these!