Three months ago, my friend Brittany shared the story behind her latest half-marathon running race, including how she carbo-loaded on healthy options the day before. When I scrolled down to the first photo in her blog post, I nearly closed my laptop and dashed straight out to Trader Joe’s.
The whole grain mixed berry muffin sitting on her plate, with juicy red raspberries poking out of every inch of the pastry, completely tempted me for a taste!
Later that afternoon, once I scribbled down a grocery list as a guise, I headed across town to check out the TJ’s bakery. I picked up my usual six bananas and Brussels sprouts to avoid appearing too suspicious, then slowly wandered over to the shelves in the back of the store.
Prominently displayed front and center, and the perfect eye level, sat those muffins. I reached for the four-pack, staring at those bright berries, and then glanced at the price tag. Ohmygosh… That much for four muffins??
I always love supporting TJ’s, but as a blogger, I feel intense baker’s guilt bringing home store-bought pastries instead of making them myself. (But six-layer chocolate cake slices are an entirely different story!)
So I carefully put the muffins back on the shelf, but I completely forgot to add “mixed berry muffins” to my baking list when I arrived back at home… Oops!
When I stopped by TJ’s last week in search of tortillas, I spotted those muffins again, practically smacked my forehead in the middle of the store, and strode straight over to the frozen aisle to pick up a bag of their mixed berries.
A few hours later, these Healthy Maple Mixed Berry Muffins sat cooling on my countertop! Soft, tender, and full of juicy fruit, these healthy pastries are still a sweet way to start your day. Unlike other low-calorie muffins, these don’t taste a thing like cardboard, so it can be our little secret that they’re low fat and completely clean-eating friendly!
Just like with my recent brownies and coffee cake, I decided to branch out and try incorporating gluten-free flour into these skinny muffins. I created my own blend with four different types: brown rice, millet, almond, and tapioca. Since gluten-free flours almost never have the same texture as all-purpose or whole wheat, it’s much better to combine multiple varieties to come closer to imitating that same flavor and mouth-feel.
Because any type of berry breakfast reminds me of my childhood weekends where Mom made herself blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup (my brother and I demanded plain with the artificial stuff), I wanted to sweeten these with that same natural flavor. You’ll just detect a hint of that warm taste: not enough to overpower the berries, but the perfect amount to trigger those tender memories of the maple scent wafting through the house as you devoured hot pancakes fresh off the griddle at the kitchen table.
When it comes to baking with berries, I prefer to use frozen and save the fresh for snacking. I picked TJ’s Fancy Berry Medley, a mix of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. However, the latter two were ginormous compared to the blueberries, so I chopped them into smaller pieces before folding them into the batter.
Frozen berries generally release a little more moisture as they bake compared to their fresh counterparts, so I left my muffins in the oven for a full 30 minutes. When they’re finished, the tops should look golden and feel fairly firm when you gently tap your finger in the center. If you’re using fresh berries, start checking for doneness about 5 minutes early just to be on the safe side. Nobody likes burnt, dry muffins!
As soon as I popped these Healthy Maple Mixed Berry Muffins from the tin, I sliced one in half and stuck a sliver of butter on each half, watching as it slowly melted into the cracks before I took my first bite… Pure breakfast bliss!
But if you manage to save a few and seal them up overnight, they develop that soft sugary coating on their tops that banana bread usually does. It’s absolutely irresistible! I’ve already gone through five muffins in one day…
I might need to bake more tomorrow!
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy maple mixed berry muffins!
Healthy Maple Mixed Berry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat pastry flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (120mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (210g) frozen mixed berries (such as Trader Joe’s Fancy Berry Medley – and see Notes!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 12 standard-sized muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or unsalted butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup and yogurt, thoroughly mixing until no large lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, stirring just until incorporated, beginning and ending with the flour. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts and the milk in 2 equal parts.) Gently fold in the berries.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and bake at 350°F for 29-33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (If using fresh berries, check for doneness about 5 minutes early.) Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. (The berries will still be extremely hot, so don’t burn yourself!)
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
I don’t know if I am over thinking this but do you thaw the berries or use them frozen?
I incorporated them while still frozen Allison! But either should work. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of the muffins!
I can’t get over how good they are! I have made them twice now. So easy for a quick breakfast!
I’m so happy to hear that Allison, and I’m touched that you’ve already made them twice! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Can’t wait to try these!! Thanks for posting on Instagram. My 17 month old loves your banana chocolate chip bran muffins. Thank you for creating such great recipes!
Do you think adding some lemon zest would work? I love a little lemon flavor to blueberrie muffins. ?
I’m touched that you’re following my Instagram account Emily, and that means a lot to me that your little one is enjoying the bran muffins! Thank you for sharing that with me! 🙂 I think that lemon zest would be a lovely addition to these muffins, and I’d love to hear how that turns out for you!
I know these muffins are supposed to be healthy, but I was wondering if they can be made with unbleached, all purpose flour and not whole wheat? They sound delicious but I don’t have any whole wheat flour in the house. Thanks for your help!
Yes, regular all-purpose flour will work just fine! I’m excited to hear what you think of the muffins Nancy! 🙂
Just made these absolutely wonderful , amazing and good for you too. Thank you.x
I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins Paula!
These turned out terrible! All I tasted was whole wheat bran and I loveeee bran flakes cereal but these were just bland and boring. Sad I wasted berries on these.
That sounds frustrating Kate. I’d like to work together to fix the issues you describe so it doesn’t happen again! I’m confused about your reference to the bran flavor since this recipe doesn’t include bran, only whole wheat flour. Did you substitute bran for some or all of the flour?
Hi Amy! This is the third time I bake these and they are always delicious and just the right level of sweet :).. Just thought of letting you know and thanking you for the recipe!
You’re so sweet Lena — I’m truly touched that you’ve made these muffins so many times! That means the world to me that you love them that much! 🙂
Hi Amy, the recipe looks great. I actually stumbled upon it bc I am trying to use up a bunch of fresh berries I have on hand. Do you think the recipe needs to be tweaked at all to use fresh instead of frozen berries in it? Thank you!
Thanks Kimberly! You can easily use fresh berries instead. Start checking on the muffins a few minutes earlier since they may finish baking a tad bit sooner, but you don’t need to do anything else differently. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of the muffins!
I would like to try these but Maple syrup is not readily available here, could I change it for some Honey and add extra Milk to keep it moist?
Yes, you can easily substitute honey for the maple syrup! It’s a 1-to-1 substitute, so no need to add extra milk. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the muffins Mariska!
Hi Amy, made Mixed Berry muffins but noticed when peeling case away from muffin there seemed to be alot of the mixture left stuck to the case. my oven is fine, followed method . First time i have come across this in my baking.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Tillyann! Did you use paper or metal liners when making these muffins? Low-fat muffin batter (and cake batter, too!) sticks to liners like superglue because of the very small amount of butter or oil in the batter. My trick is to spray the liners with nonstick cooking spray — that way, they peel away from the healthy muffins just like with regular full-fat muffins after baking! 🙂