100% Whole Grain Muffins

We eat a lot of frozen and canned fruit throughout the winter, and especially in these last few months before spring officially hits.  (I know it's April, and today the sun IS shining, but our "spring" is more of a late winter, usually.)  Easter Sunday I used the last jar of peaches, pureeing it to mix with Prosecco for Bellinis for Sunday Brunch.  Having a little over half a jar left, I wanted to incorporate it into something baked, if possible. 

Applesauce is a standard ingredient, especially as a stand-in for fats in baked goods.  I decided to use the peach puree instead of applesauce, and combine it with whole grain barley and oat flour for a nutrition-packed breakfast.  To be completely honest, I wasn't entirely sure the new recipe would turn out....  Perfectly delicious!  I would have taken a picture, but they didn't last long!

Whole Grain Peachy Muffins
Barley and oat flour can be found with the Bob's Red Mill ingredients in your local grocery store.  Whole wheat pastry flour may be substituted, if desired. 

1 cup barley flour
3/4 cup oat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 cup peach puree* (or unsweetened applesauce or other pureed fruit)
1/4 cup sugar**
1 egg
2 tbsp canola oil
1 cup fresh fruit (chopped strawberries or peaches, or frozen or fresh raspberries, or blueberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin well.

Stir together the flours, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, soda, and salt in a large bowl. 

Whisk together the peach puree, egg, and canola oil.  Pour all at once into the dry ingredients.  Stir until just barely moistened (don't over mix or your whole grain muffins will be tough).  Fold in the berries.

Divide between muffin cups.  Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in one muffin comes out clean.  Run a knife along the edge of the tins, and carefully remove from the pan to cool on a rack.  (If left in the pan, the muffins will continue to steam and will have tough edges).

Makes 12.

*To make peach puree, take 1 jar (pint or quart) of peaches in light syrup or juice, and puree in a blender until smooth.  The puree can be used in smoothies, as an ice cream topping, frozen as a sorbet in an ice cream maker, or mixed with sprkling wine for a delicious beverage.  If your peaches are canned in heavy syrup, omit the additional sugar in the muffin recipe.

**Omit the sugar if using peaches canned in heavy syrup.

An Interesting Twist on an Old Favorite!

Last night, as I was preparing dinner, I was trying to come up with a fruit to serve alongside. The bananas were still green, the kiwis hard, I only had one orange, and it was quickly apparent that I would be resorting to frozen or canned fruit. I decided to make a healthy cobbler that could serve as dessert and double as breakfast the next morning!

A few months ago I signed up for a winter CSA share, and in this week's box I received a handful of rhubarb. It's not enough to do much with, so I chopped it up and combined it with blueberries (a suggestion from a friend), and a few canned peach slices. I used a little more sugar than I would normally because of the tartness of the rhubarb, but this recipe is whole grain and still super healthy compared to most! You could even try an oatmeal crisp topping instead of the biscuits to change things up!

Blueberry, Rhubarb, & Peach Cobbler
2 cups chopped rhubarb
3 cups blueberries, frozen or fresh
1 sliced, peeled peach (fresh, frozen, or canned)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp corn starch
nutmeg, cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
2 cups white whole wheat flour, or whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup chilled, unsalted butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
2/3 cup milk
turbinado or sanding sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9" square baking pan. Place the blueberries and rhubarb directly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp sugar, and corn starch; toss lightly to combine. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Dot with little pieces of the 1 tbsp butter. Arrange the peach slices over the top. Set aside.

For the biscuit topping, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, remaining brown sugar, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Cut in the butter. Stir in the milk, adding a few more drops if necessary, until dough clings and a few crumbs remain. Turn out and knead lightly to combine thoroughly.

Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle and cut into squares. Arrange over the fruit. If desired, sprinkle turbinado sugar lightly over the tops of the biscuits.

Bake 40-50 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and the topping is browned. (Pick up a biscuit a little to check and make sure it's not doughy underneath.) Serve warm with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or yogurt.