Mulberry Muffins

 

Mulberries, I don't even remember the last time I enjoyed them. It was probably twenty-two years ago when I was 10 years old. My grandfather had a giant mulberry tree in his backyard and each summer when we visit him we spent hours up on that tree eating fresh mulberries with the neighborhood kids. Those were the best times of my childhood. Every year we waited for that time of the year. My father would arrange for great beach vacations and private villas with pools and we would still want to go to grandfather's house and climb up that mulberry tree, play with the neighborhood kids all day long. I remember how much my parents would get upset each time we left them alone at the vacation house and went to grandfathers. Then my grandfather passed away, and someone cut that tree. We never visited that house again. We started to spend summers at the beach, and it was never the same...

Recently, my dear friend Tammy had her mulberry tree cut down. Knowing how much I like them she brought me so many of them! that we wouldn't be able to finish them just by eating, so she gave me the idea of making muffins with them. I used my blueberry muffin recipe and replaced the blueberries with mulberries, if you don't have mulberries you can use blackberries they will be just as good.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup low fat milk/or buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar (I used turbinado sugar)
2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mulberries

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In a large bowl, stir together the milk, oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla extract until well-blended. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not over mix. Gently fold in the berries.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Remove to the rack to cool completely.