Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins: Coyote Ugly girls night in the hood!

Girls nights can be a fun time to relax and cut loose with friends and neighbors.  Our neighborhood is one in which we enjoy each others company and have fun getting together.  We talk, laugh, cry, eat, drink and laugh some more.
 
Several months ago we had one of those nights in our neighborhood.  The theme was Coyote Ugly and the hostess is a very talented person when it come to creating decorations. She went all out on the decorations and we were transported into the old west.  She made a jail and gave us three taboo words that we were not allowed to say.  Drink, hat, and I can't remember the last one, which explains why I did some jail time that night.  (Yes I took my glass of wine in with me so it wasn't that bad!)

As usual, the food was remarkable.  The girls always bring plenty!  There was vegetarian chili, taco salad, green salad with strawberries and glazed nuts, cornbread with honey butter, potato salad, and more! 

Since chili was on the menu, I decided to make mini Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins and honey butter.  Now that fall is in the air, chili and cornbread are sounding pretty good so it is time to share this recipe with you.  There is no saturated fat since I use canola oil.  There is no white flour or sugar.  Local honey is used as a sweetener.  They are surprisingly light, fluffy and delicious! You can even get away with eating a little bit of the honey butter if you follow Mrs. Mac's Honey Butter recipe made with part olive oil. 

Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey

Mix dry ingredients together and make a well in the middle of the ingredients. 
In a seperate bowl, beat the egg gently and then add the remaining wet ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the center of the dry ingredients.
Stir until completely mixed together.
Pour into prepared muffin tin.
Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. 

Simple Spelt Pancakes from Spring Huckleberries

This morning our neighbor surprised us with some frozen huckleberries.  Since we woke up to a dusting of snow that was such a fun treat.  I looked through my Whole Grain Baking cookbook and found a recipe for Simple Spelt Pancakes.    These pancakes were delicious.  The spelt flour is naturally a little sweet so it was perfect in this recipe.  The huckleberries added just the right amount of tartness.  They were light and fluffy and perfect on this chilly spring morning.  I topped them with Mrs. Macs butter spread and pure maple syrup. 

Simple Spelt Pancakes

2 cups whole spelt flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I used Mrs. Macs butter spread)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.  Combine the milk, melted butter, and vanilla.  Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry.  Stir the batter just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened:  it will seem wet, but will thicken as it sits.  Let the batter sit for 15 minutes.  * I added 1/2 cup of huckleberries right before cooking.

Heat a nonstick griddle and spray with a light coating of olive oil spray.  When the surface of your pan is hot enough that a drop of water sputters across it, spoon the batter onto the hot surface, 1/4-cupful at a time.  Let the pancakes cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form around the edges of the cakes, 2 to 3 minutes. 

You may need to adjust your heat up or down to get the pancakes to cook through without scorching the surface or being too pale.  When the cakes are just beginning to set, flip them and let them finish cooking on the second side, until they are golden brown on both sides, about a minute more.

Muffins For Brunch

Planning food for Christmas Eve morning brunch posed a bit of a dilemma in our household.  We were  having my husbands two adult children and their significant others over for a brunch.  I like foo foo food and they are quite basic and simple in their food choices.  Not that basic and simple is bad, because it is not,  just different from my diverse love of food.  So, after much deliberation, I looked through my new favorite cookbook, Whole Grain Baking, and found some delightful sounding muffins.  They are Sour Cream Muffins with fruit, which mine had blueberries. 

I have learned that many batters with whole grain do better if they have at least an hour to refrigerate, so I was able to make the batter the night before and refrigerate.   The next morning I baked the muffins and served them piping hot, with fruit on the side.   I think it was a winner!  Juice, milk, and coffee for beverage choices and the brunch was complete. The fact that these muffins were whole grain went completely unnoticed.  They were moist, sweet, and popping with bright and vibrant colored blueberries.  Give this recipe a try!

Sour Cream Muffins

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries
Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.  Then add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla and sour cream, and mix until incorporated.  Add the dry ingredients, mixing until the batter is smooth.  Gently fold in the fruit and refrigerate at least one hour. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Scoop the batter evenly into 12 muffin cups.  Sprinkle coarse sugar over the top.  Bake the muffins for 22-26 minutes until done.