In my desire to create healthier baked goods and to add more whole grains into our diet, I have been browsing through some of the “healthy” cookbooks on my baking cookbook shelf. Yes, I must admit I do have an entire bookshelf (or two) dedicated to baking. I was sent a cookbook last year to review called Good To The Grain by Kim Boyce, that uses a myriad of different grains in a variety of recipes.

I pulled the book out recently and looked through it for inspiration and was drawn to the Hazelnut Muffins. I love hazelnuts, called nocciola in Italian, and find their earthy flavor is wonderful in baked goods of every description. I also have been drawn to making muffins recently as there are now just two of us at home, and we never seem able to finish off a whole cake by ourselves. A muffin is the perfect size snack for one person, and I can freeze half of them to enjoy at a later date.

Although I was drawn to this muffin recipe, I did make some changes as the recipe uses teff flour which I did not have in my pantry. I used my new favorite flour, oat flour instead of the teff, substituted dark brown sugar for the white sugar listed, and replaced the butter with a healthier option, coconut oil.

The muffins turned out great and are moist and full of flavor and I’m pleased my substitutions worked out so well. Looking through this great cookbook once again, I am inspired to find some of the more unique ingredients used in the book that are unfamiliar to me such as the teff and amaranth flours, and try to use them in my future baking projects.

Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 

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Hazelnut Muffins

Yield: Makes 12 Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

A moist muffin with a rich hazelnut flavor.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Hazelnuts, Coarsely Chopped
• 4 Ounces Coconut Oil (Or 1 stick/4 Ounces Butter)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 3/4 Cup Oat Flour
• 1/2 Cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Cup Light Buttermilk
• 1/2 Cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Topping:

• 1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Hazelnuts
• 1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a small pot, heat the coconut oil (or butter) along with the chopped hazelnuts and salt, and cook for a few minutes until the hazelnuts just begin brown.
3. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and buttermilk in one bowl.
5. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla.
6. Add the coconut oil mixture to the dry ingredients and mix.
7. Next add the buttermilk mixture and stir just until mixed.
8. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups up to the top, then sprinkle the topping evenly over each muffin.
9. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until the muffins are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean from a center muffin.
10. Cool to room temperature and enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

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