Lemon-Raspberry Muffins AND Banana-Flaxseed Muffins

jodibertke
Jul 29, 2014
3 min read

Here are my favorite muffin recipes (so far at least!) I'd lie if I said I didn't snack on these all throughout the day. A big glass of cold milk and one (or 3) of these babies and I'm in heaven. I decided to put both of these recipes on the same page, since they use just about the same ingredients, so it's easy to make both of these at once! Why do I love these so much?

1. They are SO good!

2. You can freeze them! Just thaw or heat up and you're ready to go! The perfect on-the-go snack!

3. NO SUGAR. (and no crappy sugar substitutes, either!) They are sweetened with pure maple syrup. And although I get that sugar is hard to give up, NOT eating it first thing in the morning, whether it be you or your kids, will definitely make a difference in how the rest of your/they're day plays out! TRUST ME!

Here's a tip that I learned while making these: the riper the banana, the sweeter they are. I've always heard this, but didn't think it made that much of a difference... IT DOES! I whipped some up for my dad real quick a few weeks back, and I had just bought bananas that day, so they weren't too ripe. Boy did it make a difference! It's funny, I always hated it when my bananas had even the slightest bit of brown on them, now my view has completely changed, and I feel like I missed out on many sweet bananas because I wouldn't eat the brown ones! I've also started freezing my bananas when they are super ripe for two reasons. 1. So I don't have to throw them away and 2. to always have them on hand for recipes like this! So here ya go!

{recipe adapted from 100daysofrealfood.com - the original recipe called for nuts, however, the hubby is not a huge fan of nuts, so I decided to make them this way so he can enjoy them, too}

Whole-wheat Banana-Flaxseed Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups whole-wheat flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
2 very ripe bananas, peeled (the riper they are the sweeter they'll be)
1-2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper or silicone liners and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and drop in the eggs, butter, and syrup. Mix with a fork until it just comes together and set aside.
In a small bowl mash the two bananas together with the back of a fork. Carefully fold the bananas and flaxseed (if using) into the muffin batter and distribute evenly into the 12 muffin cups (or 36 mini muffin cups). Bake until they begin to brown on top and a toothpick comes clean when inserted in the center, about 20 to 22 minutes for regular sized muffins or 12 to 14 minutes for mini muffins.

Whole-wheat Lemon-Raspberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon, about 1 to 1¼ teaspons (I don't have a zester, so I just use the smallest part of my cheese grater)
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened but not melted
1 egg
½ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup frozen raspberries (no need to defrost)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper or silicone liners and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.
In a large bowl fitted with an electric whisk (or beaters), cream the butter until smooth.
Turn the speed down to low and slowly add in the egg, syrup, milk and vanilla.
With the speed still on low slowly add in the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary.
Carefully fold in the raspberries with a spatula until well combined.
Add the batter to the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick comes cleans when inserted in the center, about 18 to 20 minutes.