TWD Great Grains Muffins

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie was selected by Christine of Happy Tummy: great grains muffins.  I’ll admit to being wary of this recipe when I saw the mention of “great grains” in the title.  While I’ll occasionally use whole wheat flour in bread baking, I really prefer my other baked goods be made with all-purpose flour.  I guess I’ve had one too many bad experiences with whole grain goodies that were dense and heavy and just not very tasty.

I was pretty relieved when I opened my book and discovered that the “great grains” Dorie had in mind were whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat), oats and cornmeal.  Nothing too scary, and the recipe also included all-purpose flour and maple syrup, which I was hopeful would balance out the grains.  Just to be safe though, I used chocolate chips in my muffins instead of the dried fruit Dorie recommended 🙂  After I mixed up the batter I gave it a taste and thought it was pretty similar to sweet cornbread batter (a good thing in my book).  My muffins baked quickly, about 5 or 6 minutes faster than the suggested baking time of 18-20 minutes.

After their photo shoot, I ate one of the muffins while it was still just slightly warm.  The verdict?  A really delicious muffin that was light, tender and just slightly sweet from the maple syrup, with the cornmeal and oats adding texture.  The strong flavor of the cornmeal that was present in the batter definitely mellowed in the oven.  A repeat for sure, and I think I’ll stick with the chocolate chips next time too.  I made these last week when I was house sitting for Shane’s parents and went with a half recipe, which yielded 6 muffins.  The five that were left after I tried one went straight into their freezer, so I hope they enjoy them as much as I did! 

Many thanks to Christine for hosting this week!  You can find the recipe for the muffins on her blog or on pages 8-9 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.