Very Berry Mini Muffins

Happy 2011!

Apologies for the long sabbatical at the end of last year. But don't fret. The baking continued, just not the blogging. It was Christmas after all...

You might be thinking January is a strange time to get back to blogging about baked goods. What about the world's obsession with being healthy and fit at the beginning of every year? Muffins and cakes don't fit into any fad or detox diet that I know of.

In light of this, and my ever going resolution to keep healthy, the next few blogs will focus on healthier bakes. Wholewheat, multi-grains, low-fat, low-cal, portion controlled, etc, etc.

One of the best tricks to lighter baking is fruit. It adds sweetness without refined sugars, moister without fat. Berries are good for a tart taste, bananas for a moist bite and orange for a tangy mouthful.

I had some defrosted frozen mixed berries on my pancakes this morning so I decided to use up the last of those in today's muffins. These are a nice little (mini, if you will) treat that look really interesting. M commented that 'you can tell there's no butter but they are still nice.' I agree. Moist and tart.

Very Berry Mini-Muffins.

1 cup oats

3/4 cup skim milk (semi-skimmed is fine too)

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup berries, any

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup almonds or walnuts (optional)

Combine the oats and milk in a bowl. Set aside to soak for 15 minutes

Combine flour, baking powder and sugar. Mix well. Add the oat mixture and the rest of the ingredients. Stir until the dry is just moistened.

Coat a muffin pan with non-stick fat-free spray (we use Fry Light Sunflower Spray). Fill cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350/gas mark 5 for 12-15 minutes, longer is using regular muffin tray.

Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

If you don't have a mini-muffin pan, the recipes works just as well with a regular muffin pan. Just extend the baking time. They are ready when a tooth-pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

My batter came out purple thanks for the berry mix and the tops of the muffins stayed purple, making them look really interesting. Shout out to my mother-in-law--she bought me the really pretty cake box behind the muffins in the picture.