By Julia Moskin
Updated Feb. 29, 2024
- Total Time
- About 2 hours
- Rating
- 4(651)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This master recipe for juicy, whole grain berry muffins is both extremely flexible and extremely rewarding. It is sweet but not sugary, packed with whole grains but not dense, and reasonably rich in fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats.The fresh berries and nuts are interchangeable with dried fruit, coconut or sunflower seeds. And the muffins freeze beautifully; they can go from a 300-degree oven to the breakfast table (or the car) in about 20 minutes.
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Ingredients
Yield:18 to 24 muffins
- 2cups/240 grams all-purpose flour, more as needed
- ⅔cup/75 grams whole wheat flour or wheat germ, preferably toasted
- ⅔cup/92 grams fine-ground yellow cornmeal
- ⅔cup/66 grams rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
- ⅔cup/142 grams packed light brown sugar
- 4teaspoons baking powder
- 1teaspoon baking soda
- 2teaspoons cinnamon
- 2teaspoons nutmeg or allspice (or use additional cinnamon)
- ½teaspoon salt
- 1¾cups/414 milliliters buttermilk, more as needed
- 1⅓cup/315 milliliters coconut oil, or neutral oil like safflower or canola
- ⅔cup/158 milliliters maple syrup
- 4eggs
- 2cups/198 grams grated carrots or tart apple
- 1½cups/255 grams blueberries
- 1cup/113 grams chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)
- ⅓cup/71 grams packed light brown sugar
- ½teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼cup/59 milliliters coconut oil or cold unsalted butter
- ½cup/60 grams all-purpose flour
- 1½tablespoons finely grated orange zest
For the Muffins
For the Streusel (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (21 servings)
324 calories; 13 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 19 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 232 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Make the muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flours, cornmeal, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Step
2
In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, mix the wet ingredients: buttermilk, oil, maple syrup and eggs.
Step
3
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently mix just until blended. Don’t worry about a few lumps or streaks of flour. Stir in the carrots, blueberries and nuts if using. (If you'd like, reserve a handful of blueberries for sprinkling on top of the muffins just before baking.)
Step
4
Set batter aside at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes to allow flours to absorb the liquid. Check batter after 15 minutes by giving it a light stir. It should be thick, not runny (this will help the muffins rise). Thin with a little more buttermilk or thicken by adding 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Set aside for 5 minutes more, check and adjust texture again, and repeat until batter is thick and fluffy.
Step
5
Heat oven to 425 degrees and place rack in top third of oven. Butter or spray a muffin tin (regular or jumbo), or line the cups with paper liners. Make sure to also butter or spray the top surface of the tin to help the muffins release.
Step
6
Make the streusel if using: In a small bowl, mix and pinch all the ingredients together until blended and crumbly. (If using butter, cut into small pieces first.)
Step
7
Using an ice-cream scoop or small ladle, divide thick batter among muffin cups, filling almost to the top. Mound the batter slightly in the center of each cup; this will help make a domed muffin top. If you reserved blueberries for topping, press them lightly into the muffins. If you are topping with streusel, use your fingers to divide streusel over batter and press lightly onto the surface.
Step
8
Place muffin tin in oven and reduce heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a tester inserted into center of muffin comes out moist but clean. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Cool muffins in pan on rack, then remove from tin.
Step
9
Repeat with remaining batter. If there is not enough batter remaining to fill all the cups, fill every other cup with batter. Pour water into the empty cups to protect the pan in the oven.
Tip
- To freeze extra muffins, wrap them individually in aluminum foil. Reheat, still wrapped, in a 300-degree oven for about 20 minutes. Or unwrap and reheat in a microwave.
Ratings
4
out of 5
651
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Cooking Notes
hubertrscl
What is the calorie count, fiber content, and amount of sugar in 1 muffin?
Julia Moskin
There will always be a healthy debate about what is and isn't nutritious. My goal here was to use whole ingredients to improve the empty-calorie recipe that usually produces a bakery muffin. So: brown sugar, fruit, and maple syrup instead of white sugar; whole grains in addition to white flour; nuts for protein; fruit and vegetables for fiber. Consider this recipe a starting point, not a doctor's prescription. Thanks everyone!
Carlisle
If you're going to all the trouble of making a healthy muffin, why not use white whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose? It can be substituted on a one-to-one basis in any quick bread recipe.
G. James
Considering the brown sugar on most people's shelves consists of molasses added to refined white sugar, you might consider replacing the brown sugar with molasses and keeping the maple sugar which is a lightly-refined product. But look, if one is eating muffins for breakfast, they should stop worrying about the precise content. And if one is eating muffins only occasionally, they should stop worrying period.
NH Laura
Loved loved LOVED this recipe! The adaptability of the healthy ingredients will make this a go to for my make ahead breakfasts. I swapped-
- ground flaxseed for the wheat germ
-2/3 cup of yogurt and 2/3 cup of spiced apple butter for 2/3rds of the oil
-skipped the maple syrup
I skipped the topping because I prefer less sweet. Moist delish muffins and genius recipe. Thank you!
Echo35
Forget about the calorie count, the questions should be where do you get the fancy pantsy muffin baggies???
WW Dru
Weight Watchers calculates points by looking at fat, saturated fat, protein, carbs, sugars. The whole idea of WW is moderate portions of healthy food. One of these muffins is 12 points. I eat 30 points in an ENTIRE DAY. So, no, I would not call these muffins healthy.
Mk
Given that there is almost two cups of some form of sugar in this recipie being used, this muffin shouldn't be considered healthy. Also all purpose flour is not a healthy option either. The title and intro are incredibly misleading.
Jane F
As far as healthiness goes. Remember this is for a meal. You are getting protein from eggs and nuts, whole grains (along with the white flour) vegetables, and nuts and fruit with their antioxidant qualities. Food is more than calories and fats. Use the coconut oil for health.
Lynnsie
I made a lot of changes:
2 c whole wheat
2/3 c white flour
2/3 c oil - could be 1/2 I think
Sucanat instead of brown sugar (mine was too hard to use)
Egg beaters
Soy milk with added vinegar instead of buttermilk
1/3 c currants (didn't have blueberries)
1/3 c sliced almonds
They took longer to bake in my oven - around 22 minutes. They are DELICIOUS!!!
Mary
I was looking forward to breakfast with these muffins, but ended up disappointed. I should have read the many suggestions to cut the amount of oil in half. As written, I found these muffins way too greasy - my hands were greasy just from handling them. The overall flavor was good. Not sure I'll make them again as I'm really turned off by their oily texture. Will probably give the remainder of the batch to my chickens, sorry to say.
Julia Moskin
In response to coconut oil Qs:
I've re-tested this recipe with less oil -- 1 cup -- and it still comes out quite moist.
Coconut oil melts at about 78 degrees, so it is semisolid at cool room temperature. If necessary, warm it gently in a 100-degree oven or in a tub of hot water to turn it into liquid.
Some companies are producing blends of coconut oil and vegetable oil that are liquid at room temperature; you can certainly use those in the recipe.
Analisa
King Arthur Flour sells them online, if you don't live near a baking supply store and/or prefer an online option.
Anne
Nutritional analysis per serving (20 servings)
318 calories; 16 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 19 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 38 milligrams cholesterol; 260 milligrams sodium
The nutritional information is on the left hand side of the page below the ingredients; you have to mouseover the words 'nutritional information' to see it
Jessica
I blindly trusted this recipe because I've had great luck with NYT recipes BUT this one was a disaster. Waaaay too much liquid overall. And as other folks said toooo much sugar. It was cupcake sweet and the batter was soup. Terrible. Changes I would make:
1 C. milk
3/4 C. oil
1/2 C. maple syrup
1/2 C. brown sugar
3 eggs
maryann
I wish the author would include approximately how much streusel per muffin, because I only have one muffin tin, so I don’t put enough on the first dozen, put too much on the second dozen and wind up tossing the rest of the streusel.I also notice that although the muffins taste good, the wrappers are greasy and sometimes there is even grease in the tin after I remove the muffin.This recipe is time consuming. Grating carrots and nutmeg, toasting nuts, zesting an orange. Good, but not simple.
stacy
love these! I used nonfat yogurt instead of buttermilk, honey instead of maple syrup and added apples, carrots, dried cherries and ground flax seed. I was skeptical about the flour absorption time but they are still nice and fluffy!
Vincent
I love having weights provided! Thank you! I wish the NYT app would make that standard. It would be extra handy even in cases of volume, as with the oil in this recipe. So many fewer things to wash and more efficient to boot. Love your recipes, JM.
nance
Used frozen mixed berries, worked fine. 3tsp cinnamon and 1tsp freshly grated nutmeg. Used coconut sugar for the brown sugar. Instead of all oil I used 2/3 cup canola oil and 2/3 cup applesauce. I only had one carrot so I used a few more berries. Also only had medium ground cornmeal, just had a little extra crunch. Super yummy!
S. Parker
Talk about a forgiving recipe... I had the jar of coconut oil out on the counter but forgot to measure it out for my mise en place (quite a lot of ingredients to gather), and completely forgot about it. Muffins were all scooped out and in their papers in the pans in the 400 degree oven by the time I realized. They turned out just fine! And I'm not one to skimp on butter and fat.
S. Parker
PS: I can slather with butter guilt-free.
nance
Good base to start with but definitely too much fat. Next time I will reduce oil and use applesauce to make up the difference. I upped the cinnamon and reduced the nutmeg.
s
this recipe was a delight to make and the muffins were delicious! I loved incorporating multiple grains into the muffin, along with the fruit, nuts, and vegetable. letting the batter rest & raise was new to me for a non-yeasted recipe. It worked a charm on my first try. Julia, thanks for such a great recipe!
Mariah Schlegel
Melt the coconut oil ahead of time. Time suggested is pretty accurate, and it took 20 mins to cook. I would make again.
Gail
This is a lot of work. …..but very tasty.
Judy
I made these today, a half recipe to try them out. I sprayed the muffin tin well, including the top and they came out of the pan nicely. Used coconut oil, which I melted in the oven @ 100 degrees, and frozen blueberries and coarsely grated carrots. I also added the toasted nuts, and made the orange streusel for the top. Delicious! I did not use paper liners and I did not notice that the muffins were oily at all, which many people seem to have experienced.
so good!
I upped the whole wheat, decreased the all purpose, replaced the oats with spelt, and added in some sourdough discard. So delicious! I didn’t make the streusel this time but would totally try it.
Lisa
This recipe was a total flop and I’m a fairly good baker. It managed to be mushy oily and crunchy all at the same time. Horrible
Kaja
I usually try to stick to a recipe, but given all the comments on this one, I decided to reduce the oil, using 3/4 cup of melted coconut oil. I subbed date syrup for the maple syrup. Date syrup apparently has a higher sugar content for the same volume, so I used 1/2 cup. I used mostly grated apple and a bit of carrot. No problem with thin batter. I didn't make the streusel but sprinkled the muffins with turbinado sugar. I was delighted with the result, especially the beautiful domed tops.
Leslie
I made 3/4 of this recipe and it made 12 generous standard muffins. Skipped the topping. If was sweet enough already. Everyone loved them!
Lee Norris
why not use all whole wheat flour, and cut the amount of sugar/maple syrup by half if you want healthy muffins that will taste just as good?
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