Sunday, June 3, 2007

Breakfast muffins



I wanted to see what a photo of food in the oven would look like. The first shot I tried was taken through the oven window and it was nothing but white from the flash. The second shot was through the oven window without flash and it was a very foggy image of the cupcakes. The final shot, above, was taken with only the oven light. I really rushed the shot because I didn't want the oven temperature to go too low and ruin the muffins.



The proof is in the Jerry! My biggest fan and harshest critic, my husband, just had his second muffin for breakfast. Now I know the recipe is a winner. You don't have to eat them only for breakfast. They would be excellent with tea in the afternoon and for those without a sweet tooth, like me, they made a fine dessert.

I really recommend whole wheat pastry flour for baking. It is especially good in fat-free baking and is commonly available in larger grocery stores and online.

Zucchini Breakfast Muffins

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup Florida crystals sugar or regular sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce or 3 4-ounce containers
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup rice milk
1 cup firmly packed grated zucchini
3/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Place foil liners in 12 standard size baking cups. (Fat-free baking is more likely to stick to the pan, so I encourage you to use these.)

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar.

Pour in the applesauce, oil and rice milk (I prefer rice milk because it imparts no noticeable flavor to the muffins). Stir until mixed, stir in zucchini, raisins and walnuts. You want to stir enough to distribute all of the ingredients fairly evenly throughout the batter, but not so much that you begin to take out the air.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a knife in the center of one comes out clean and the tops are lightly browned.

Serve warm, at room temperature, or microwaved for 10 seconds if refrigerated.


Next time I plan to try adding about 1/4 cup of Ghirardelli's Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa. But if no one asks in a comment, I won't tell you how it turned out!

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