Recipe: Whole Wheat Rye Sesame Muffins

I haven’t been inspired (or had the time) to make any muffins or quick breads for months. But I’ve been craving desserts, so tonight, I decided to take to heart Michael Pollan’s Food Rule #39: Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

Which muffin recipe to make? I thought about peanut butter chocolate chip, blueberry, and oat raisin, but decided I’d like to try something new.

I searched through my Evernote recipes and found a lovely sesame seed muffin recipe. I loved that the recipe included a good amount of sesame seeds, but I wanted more whole grains, so I adapted it to my needs.

Here’s my modifications:

Healthy Low Sugar Whole Wheat Rye Sesame Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup rye flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder (aluminum free)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp (approx) freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 cup milk (I used So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk, but almond milk would also work very well, as well as plain yogurt)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (the good stuff, not imitation)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat & rye flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and sesame seeds.
3. Whisk oil and egg together in a small glass bowl or large glass measuring cup until slightly frothy
4. Mix in molasses, milk, and vanilla.
5. Pour wet mixture into dry flour bowl and stir to combine. Try not to over mix.
6. Scoop into 12 muffin tins lined with paper and bake for 14-20 minutes.

Notes:

• The mixture is firm, so it’s easy to pile the batter high in the tin.
• I think I’ll add more spice next time. The cinnamon and nutmeg was fine, but I think it needs more ginger and maybe even a bit of anise or fennel seed.
• It was easy to scoop the batter into tins using my Oxo Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop.
• I slightly over-cooked the muffins, so next time I’ll bake for only 14 minutes. I bake in a counter-top convection oven.
• These muffins are not sweet, so more sweetener can be added if that is what you like. We plan on topping with a dollop of jelly for tomorrow’s breakfast!
• Raisins would be a great addition, as would some dark chocolate chips (leave out the spices).
• The sesame seeds are yummy! I might increase the amount added next time. They add a touch of chewy sweetness to the muffin.

Nutritional Data

Each muffin is approximately 2 oz.

Calories: 165
Total Fat: 8.3g
Saturated: 1.7g
Polyunsaturated: .5g
Monounsaturated: 3.2g
Cholesterol: 16.3mg
Sodium: 225mg
Potassium: 53mg
Total Carbs: 17g
Fiber: 2.7g
Sugars: 4g
Calcium: 13.5%
Iron: 12.5%

Use the nutritional data as a guide; the info is not absolute, your results might vary considerably depending on the total weight of the finished dish.

UPDATE: For breakfast, we ended up melting some organic whipped butter on top of a sliced muffin. It was yummy. I’ll definitely add a bit more sweetener next time, or possibly some sweeter mix-ins like raisins or chocolate chunks, along with a bit more sesame seeds.