Cheddar Jalapeño Corn Muffins

My fantastic friend Layla is becoming one of my tried-and-true baking buddies. We have spent many an evening elbow deep in flour making a mess of her otherwise immaculate apartment, ('cause I'm a messy baker......like......for real.....,) creating long lists of delicious confections. Seeing as I have a sweet tooth, I was equal parts fascinated and excited when Layla suggested we create  Cheddar Jalapeno Corn Muffins. It went like this:

Layla: I was thinking something with cheddar and jalapeños....like maybe a corn muffin.

Me: {Confused face}

Layla: Don't you think that sounds good?

To myself, while face still appears confused-- Where is the SUGAR or CHOCOLATE in this idea??? Muffins that are not sugar or chocolate?? IS THIS POSSIBLE?? Wait-- it's totally possible...and totally delicious. 

Me: BRILLIANT!!!!

Both of us: Let's get some wine. (This has nothing to do with the recipe, but it totally happened.)

Pear Almond Muffins

In the parallel universe that exists only in my brain, muffins are healthy and acceptable to eat at every meal, chubby women are hailed as goddesses of beauty, and all matters of justice are handled by Atticus Finch, Detective Stabler, Batman, and The Doctor. This blog is really only equipped to handle the muffin issue.

A few months ago, I had a really delicious pear muffin at a bakery near my house, and then a really delicious almond muffin at a different bakery. I have since been obsessed with developing a hybrid of the two. This is what I've come up with.

(For a printable version of this recipe, click here)
Pear Almond Muffins - Yield 10-12 muffins

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar (+ extra for topping)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 sliced almonds, toasted and ground (+ extra for topping)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 cup chopped fresh pear

Low-Fat Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins

Brace your self-- this is a healthy recipe.....bummer....I know......but don't click away yet!!!

This recipe was born out of two problems: 1) I hate taking time to make healthy breakfasts, 2) one healthy breakfast I do like is steel cut oats made in my crock pot overnight, but it makes way more oats than one Julie can eat, so I always have too much left over. And then, one day, it occurred to me that I could use the leftover oatmeal to make muffins, and, for just one second, ALL WAS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD.

This recipe is fast, easy and waist-line friendly! For those of you out there counting weight watchers points, these muffins are only three points plus points each! According to SparkPeople's recipe calculator, the stats break down to: Calories, 115 / Fat 2.4g / Carbs 24.6g / Fiber 2.3g/ Protein 3g. I'm sure you could lower the fat/calories even more if you use egg substitute instead of real eggs.

Since healthy baking is way less fun than non-healthy baking, you must first make sure you have some really awesome music to sing and dance to while you are baking. Yes, this is part of the official recipe. The muffins will know if you are not dancing. You don't have to dance well-- to prove this, I've provided an internet simulated likeness of my dancing:




Seriously. You have no idea. It's bad. But it makes healthy projects SO much more fun.

ANYWAY...back to the muffins. Yes, these are healthy muffins, so they will have that slightly hockey-puck shape that healthy muffins have; but, they taste good.