Over Christmas time, we went up to WA to visit family, and one day everyone except me went to see Avatar. I tagged along for the trip to Seattle, but instead hung out downtown and did some window shopping. I was browsing the plentiful selection of bargain books at Barnes & Noble (which were then an extra 50%off!) and couldn’t pass us this one, 100 Magnificent Muffins & Scones. I think it was like 3 or 4 dollars. It’s funny how I’ve noticed that at B&N and Borders, the same cookbooks are always on the Bargain Books shelves…they really need to mix it up some.
This recipe is the very first one listed in the book. I didn’t have any honey on hand, but I had plenty of agave nectar (Costco special purchase), which I heard is a fine substitute. It worked great! Also, it was my first time adding lemon zest in a recipe…WOW, that was the best thing! Even just zesting the lemon brought out so much flavor and I could not stop inhaling the scent. I can’t wait to try orange zest in something now. My microplane is awesome Due to the lack of butter and a limited amount of sugar, I’d say these muffins are quite healthy and a definite breakfast to-go item!
Whole Grain Agave Muffins Makes 9 muffins
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
scant 1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2/3 cup skim milk
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray or line with muffin liners.
Combine the flour, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl. Mix together the agave nectar, oil, egg, lemon zest and milk in a separate bowl. Pour agave mixture into the dry ingredients and use a large spoon to fold everything together.
Spoon equally into the muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes, or until muffins are well risen, firm and springy to the touch.