100% Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

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Oftentimes the simple basics are the best. That is certainly the case with these easy 100% whole wheat blueberry muffins. I was hankering for a good old blueberry muffin, but at the same time didn't want it to be completely devoid of nutrition. These muffins grabbed me with their 100% whole wheat title, and when I saw the modest amount of sugar and oil in the recipe I knew it was the perfect muffin to try. And no need to fear, they turned out wonderfully. With all whole wheat flour I was afraid they would be dense and dry but they actually turned out very light. They are perfectly sweet without being sugary and have a wonderful wheat-y nuttiness from the whole wheat flour. A touch of cinnamon shines through as the perfect complement to the sweet and juicy berries. 

As you can probably see, these muffins are not the gigantic muffins you might see at a bakery or coffee shop, they are a bit more modest in size than that. If you're feeling like something a bit bigger you could go ahead and fill those muffins tins a bit more and end up with fewer muffins in the end. 

Side story; I had decided to make these muffins one random morning that I had the day off. Since I don't need to make large batches for just myself, I decided to halve the recipe you see below. I do this all the time and rarely have any problems. All seemed to be going fine, until I tasted the finished batter that is. I thought to myself, 'hmm, these taste kind of oily.' I just figured the taste would bake out and they would be fine. 

Halfway through the baking however, as I was finishing up my dishes I suddenly had the epiphany that I hadn't halved the oil! I don't know why it popped into my head at that point and not when I tasted the oily batter, but no matter. Whatever the case the first batch was pretty much ruined. I let them finish baking and then took a look at them. They were heavy, dense and greasy as I'm sure you can imagine. I shed a (figurative) tear, slowly tossed them into the trash can, and pulled out my freshly washed mixing bowls to have another go at it. Sigh. The trials of a small batch baker. 

Don't worry, the second batch turned out great. And I made sure that I wrote down all the measurements this time, halved! 

100% Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cup (10 ounces) whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup (4.5 ounces) brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) buttermilk or plain (not Greek) yogurt; or 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) liquid whey leftover from making Greek yogurt - this is what I used

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease the cups of a standard muffin pan; or line with paper baking cups, and grease the paper cups.

Whisk together all of the dry ingredients, including the blueberries. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, vegetable oil, and buttermilk or whey. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring just to combine.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them nearly full. A slightly heaped muffin scoop of batter is the right amount. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse sparkling sugar or cinnamon sugar, if desired.

Bake the muffins for 16 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean. 

Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes (or when they're cool enough to handle) transfer them to a rack to cool. Serve warm, or at room temperature. 

Yield: 12 muffins.