An American Cooking from Scratch in Estonia - Whole Wheat/ Fresh Blueberry Muffins

It's Saturday and Spring is in the air.

We have a tradition of a big family breakfast every Saturday morning.  But, this morning started with a two hour interview with the landlord of a possible new apartment in Tallinn (Yes...we are trying to move).  Therefore, the pancake tradition was abandoned for today, and I am now making this nice, healthier version of the traditional comfort food, blueberry muffins, as an afternoon snack.

To improve the health value of these, I use whole wheat flour instead of white flour; coconut oil instead of vegetable oil; 100 percent pure maple syrup instead of sugar (lower glycemic index than sugar), and some fresh blueberries!


Whole-Wheat Blueberry (or Banana) Muffins

Ingredients:

1 egg
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour (to make these a bit less dense so my kids will eat them)
1/2 cup of 100 percent maple syrup (only use pure syrup)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of blueberries or smashed/ sliced bananas

For those living in Estonia, this is the organic whole wheat flour I buy and can find in most grocery stores:

I also find 100 percent maple syrup in Mark and Spencer's, Solaris and Stockmann.  Here is the M & S version:

Directions:

1.  Mix egg, milk and oil together, by hand, in a big mixing bowl.
2.  Add all dry ingredients and continue to mix until the batter is blended and moist.
3.  Finally, add in the fresh blueberries or bananas into batter and gently stir.

***My son does not like berries, so I separated out 1/4 of the wet batter and added bananas to that and then added blueberries to the remaining batter.  So, we get two types of muffins from one batter base.

4.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

5.  Cook at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 20 - 25 minutes.

These are great fresh-out-of-the oven!  Happy weekend everyone!

***Estonia tip:  Since blueberries are only fresh in the market when they are in season, I always buy them in bulk from the summer outdoor markets when cheapest and freeze them in plastic bags to use throughout the year.***