Very berry health muffins

I’ve been fiddling around trying to get a good “healthy” muffin recipe going. Usually I don’t really worry about making things that aren’t inherently healthy, healthy. I just indulge and enjoy in moderation. But it’s appealing to have a way to kick off the day with something that’s relatively guilt-free and sets you on the right track. Healthy muffins are often dry and dense – I wanted something light and moist but I wanted to cut out the butter, oil and sugar and use a whole wheat flour. A few batches later I think I have one I’m happy with: very berry health muffins. It starts with mashed banana, an idea I borrowed from a recipe I posted last year, but pushes the health factor further with agave nectar instead of sugar, whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour, and apple sauce and sour cream for moisture. Add to that a heap of mixed berries and you have a moist and flavorful muffin. You can get away with the pastry flour and use regular whole wheat if you can’t find it (I’d subtract a couple of tablespoons from the quantity below) but it won’t be as light and delicate as the pastry flour version. It’s important here to not over-bake so they stay moist: cook until a cake tester barely comes out clean. I like to bake them in pastry rings lined with parchment paper and tie them with a string afterwards (adds to the rustic appeal) but baking them in a regular muffin tin with cupcake liners will do too.

Very berry health muffins (makes 6 extra large or 12 standard-sized muffins)

In a medium-sized bowl combine:

2 over-ripe bananas, well mashed
½ cup applesauce
½ cup sour cream
½ cup plus 1 tbs agave nectar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In another bowl, sift:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Also needed: 1 heaping cup berries
Sanding sugar for dusting the top, if desired

Combine wet and dry until just mixed. Gently stir in 1 heaping cup fresh berries (blueberry and raspberry make a nice combination). Spoon into baking cups until 2/3-3/4 full. If desired, brush the tops lightly with water and dust on sanding sugar. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean (watch carefully at the end so as to not over bake - this timing is for fewer larger muffins, standard-sized muffins might cook more quickly). Cool on wire rack (take muffins out of tin or rings as soon as possible so that they do not continue to cook, see below).

If you would like to use pastry rings, I like ateco’s 3 inch diameter by nearly 2 inch high ones. I cut parchment strips that when folded in half length-wise, are 2 1/2 - 2 ¾ inches tall by ~10 inches long. Those will poke up from the rings a little bit and overlap slightly when fit into the rings. I lightly brush the bottom of the inside of the rings with oil, place them on a heavy-bottomed baking sheet lined with a silpat liner (or parchment paper), position the parchment liner on the inside, folded edge up, and carefully fill them. When cooked, I remove them from the baking sheet and let cool for a minute or two on a wire rack until I can un-mold them from the rings and allow them to cool completely. Once cool, tie them with a string for a decorative flourish.