Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins

Good morning!  Well, it may not be morning right this minute, but we are doing our best this week to share some recipes that will help to make your mornings good!

Breakfast is my favorite meal.  And breakfast baked goods are some of the best – doughnuts, coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls.  And we won’t even talk about pancakes, waffles, and french toast.  Unfortunately, these morning baked goods can also be some of the highest in calories.  Who knew that degree of deliciousness and caloric content are directly proportionate. 🙂  And muffins, a breakfast staple, are some of the worst offenders when it comes to “not the best choice” as far as nutrition goes.

My goal this week was to try to find a delicious tasting muffin that would not break the “relatively healthy for you” bank.  I found King Arthur Flour’s Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins.

The basic ingredients are:

• milled flax seeds
• 100% bran cereal (not flakes)
• skim milk
• applesauce
• brown sugar
• salt
• oil
• an egg
• unbleached all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• raisins
• dried apricots
• shredded carrot

That’s a wholesome list of ingredients.  I did make a few substitutions.  I used almond milk instead of skim milk, olive oil, and dried pears instead of the apricots because I already had the pears.

The wet ingredients are mixed together and then , in a separate bowl, the dry ingredients.are combined.  The wet ingredients are then added to the dry.  All can be easily mixed with a spoon.  The batter is the scooped by 1/4 cupfuls into 12 prepared muffin tins.  (I got 14 muffins and my tin was filled to the top before baking.)

The Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins have a slightly chewy texture.  They are not overly dense, but definitely don’t have the same texture as a muffin batter made with more fat and sugar.  In my opinion, this makes them seem more filling, more meal-like.  I have eaten a muffin with my morning coffee and been satisfied until lunchtime.  Granted, I am getting up a little later than I do during the school year (7:30 seems decadent compared to 5 am) so breakfast and lunch are a little closer together. 🙂

If I make this recipe again, the one thing that I will definitely do is add a touch of cinnamon.  The recipe calls for no added flavor – spices or extracts.  I do think that there is plenty of room in the basic recipe to customize it to your particular liking – variations in the choice of fruits and flavorings.

If you make these muffins, please share your customized recipes!

Wishing you all a summer filled with good mornings!

For those who are interested, each muffin is 6 Weight Watchers points.

King Arthur Flour’s Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins

 

Roasted Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls

My wonderful partner in crime, Kris of course, gifted me with the latest edition of KAF’s Sift Magazine a few weeks ago. As soon as I saw it, right on the front cover was this photo of these wonderful looking rolls, cinnamon roll-esque, not with cinnamon filling but strawberry filling – I knew I HAD to make these. I would have made them regardless if I was making them for our Food Friday, but making them for this was much more fun!

I present to you King Arthur Flour’s Roasted Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls. I think what grabbed me even more than the photo that had me drooling, was the fact that it says “Roasted Strawberry”, I’ve never roasted strawberries. I was intrigued. And then, as if I needed more of an incentive, you can use either fresh OR frozen berries! This is something that can be made year-round, not just during strawberry season since frozen berries are acceptable.

The ingredient list looks lengthy, but it’s really not. Most items are likely already in your pantry:

DOUGH

•  milk
•  cream cheese
• unsalted butter
•  granulated sugar
• large egg
•  active dry or instant yeast
•  salt
•  King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

FILLING

•  fresh or frozen strawberries
•  granulated sugar
•  Instant ClearJel
•  ground cinnamon
•  grated orange peel (zest)

FROSTING

•  cream cheese
•  confectioners’ sugar
•  vanilla extract
•  milk or cream

I actually did this in 2 days, not because it was long and complicated, but because of time constraints I was working with, it just was easier for me. So, I roasted the berries one day, took them to the point just before thickening them and popped them into the fridge, to be finished the next day. And it worked well!

The only out of the ordinary ingredient is KAF’s Instant ClearJel. I happen to have it around because once I tried it for other projects, I’ve grown to really appreciate a thickener that’s instant – no heat required.

And cheated a bit, as I used was my latest acquisition from KAF, the Orange Citrus Oil. I used it in place of the of the orange zest called for in the berry filling. Worked wonderfully! (I now have the trio as I already have the Lemon Oil and Lime Oil, they have come in handy so many times and little goes a long way!)

So it was really easy to pull together, I roasted the berries and got the filling mixed up in a jiffy, the dough was easy to prepare as well. The dough was also really easy to work with, nice texture and it behaved beautifully. I hate it when I have to argue and fight with a dough I need to do certain things!

Once I patted (then I used my rolling pin because it actually was quicker!) the dough into the prescribed shape, I slathered the filling on and rolled it up.

Now, after you get that done, it’s time to cut the rolls. I had a super sharp knife, but still wish I’d gotten some dental floss to use to cut them, less mushing. And I wish I’d known about the idea (I read it in the reviews after the fact!) to refrigerate the roll for a bit BEFORE cutting – less smushing out of the filling.

Once they’re cut and in the pan, you let them rise for about an hour, then bake! While they’re baking, I mixed up the frosting in a small bowl. After they come out of the oven, you let them cool to lukewarm then put the icing on. I think mine were a bit too cool, as it really didn’t “melt” a bit, but that’s ok – tastes just fine!

I absolutely love these rolls, they are so yummy! The roasted berries are a wonderful thing, I wasn’t sure about what they would  bring to the party, but they are definitely a star guest! Wow, they add all kinds of yummy goodness. Jeremy is already asking for more and has all kinds of ideas for fillings, I’m in trouble I think…