BANANA-BLUEBERRY BUTTERMILK MUFFINS

I am always on the look-out for sweet breads/muffins that are multi-grained and have less sugar and oil.  This recipe for Banana-Blueberry Buttermilk Bread came from the July/August 2010 issue of Eating Well.  I love this magazine because the recipes in it are always so good and better for you.

A note with the recipe says, " The slight acidity of buttermilk tenderizes and moistens baked goods while allowing you to cut way back on butter or oils.  Here is also lends a slight tanginess to the winning combination of bananas and blueberries..."  I couldn't have said it better.

Another note that I found informative (since I use whole wheat pastry flour all the time for whole wheat flour) was "Whole-wheat pastry flour, lower in protein than regular whole-wheat flour, has less gluten-forming potential, making it a better choice for tender baked goods. You can find it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets and natural-foods stores. Store in the freezer."

The recipe was intended to be made as a loaf, but they gave directions for muffins and that is what I made.  I had to make one emergency substitution and the other ones were common substitutions I make. I didn't notice until I started typing this post that the recipe only called for 1/4 cup oil. I did use a whole individual serving cup of the applesauce which is 4 oz or 1/2 cup.  Sometimes I use the unsweetened applesauce. The last time I bought it, they had the sweetened with Splenda instead. The muffins taste great so I will continue to use the 1/2 cup.  I will include the original recipe in parenthesis.  

If you want to make a loaf instead of muffins, set oven for 375 degrees F and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

BANANA-BLUEBERRY BUTTERMILK MUFFINS

3/4     cup nonfat or low-fat buttermilk
1/4     cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar blend or (3/4 cup brown sugar)
1/2     cup applesauce sweetened with Splenda or (1/4 cup canola oil)
1        large egg + 1/4 cup Egg Beaters or (2 large eggs)
1        cup mashed ripe bananas -- about 3 medium
1-1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1        cup soft wheat flour or (all-purpose flour)
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4    teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2    teaspoon baking soda
1/2    teaspoon salt
1/4    teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/4 cups blueberries, frozen or fresh

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Spray a 12 (1/2 cup) muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.

Whisk buttermilk, brown sugar, applesauce (oil), and eggs in a large bowl.  

Stir in the mashed bananas.

Sift (or whisk) the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

Fold in the blueberries. (I always use blueberries that I have frozen. They don't tear apart when you fold them in the batter and they don't "bleed" as much when they bake.)

Divide the batter among the muffin cups (they will be full).

Bake until the tops are golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of a middle muffin, 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Remove and finish cooling or cool 5 minutes and serve.

These have to be the prettiest muffins I have made in quite a while. They rose so nicely and were all uniform in size.  Here is a picture so you can see how much they rose when they baked.

And when I cut into one...