I'm OBSESSED with giant muffins right now! My mom had this giant muffin tin at her house that makes 6 huge muffins instead of 12, and I just HAD to try it! We were having a friend come over to lunch, and my mom was making this amazing salad, so I suggested we have muffins to go along with it (knowing full well that that was my chance to use the giant muffin tin!!) I came up with this recipe which is a spin off of a lemon poppy seed muffin...mom suggested the blueberries, and man is this an amazing combination! Moist, sweet, heavy, with plump blueberries and a crunchy crumble on top, this muffin is exploding with flavor and texture...oh, and did I mention there's an incredible orange drizzle to go on top? AND did I mention that it's extremely healthy and low fat AND low cal? Your mouth will think you're eating dessert, but your body with think you're being super healthy! Win, win!!! Here's my warning: once you try them, they are all you'll want to eat...so be careful!
Take 2 T. of ground flax seed and mix it with 6 T. of warm water. Set aside until it becomes gooey (it'll be ready by the time you're ready to combine the wet and dry ingredients)
-Preheat your oven to 400
Whisk all the dry ingredients together to incorporate fully:
1 c. King Arthur's unbleached cake flour
1 c. King Arthur's whole wheat flour
1 t. baking soda
1t. baking powder
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 c. xylitol sugar (I used the Ideal brand, which I was able to find at my grocery store. The cool thing about it is, it's a natural sweetener, derived from certain fruits, and it's no cal!)
1 T. poppy seeds
Add:
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce (I've actually done this with 1/4 c. coconut oil too, but the applesauce makes it lower in fat, if you're into watching that sort of thing! And honestly, with the applesauce, you absolutely would NEVER guess this was a low fat muffin!)
3/4 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/2 c. real orange juice...no sugar added, not from concentrate (I used Simply Orange)
2 T. lemon or lime juice...doesn't really matter which
2 T. orange extract
Flax seed mixture from above
-mix everything together with a spoon until well incorporated...try not to over mix.
Gently fold in:
1 c. fresh blueberries (or 1 c. thawed and drained frozen blueberries, keeping as much juice out of the mixture as possible.)
-Fill muffin tins until all the batter is used up.
The Crumble Topping:
1/2 c. King Arthurs whole wheat flour
1/4 c. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/2 c. Xylitol Sugar (the same kind as above)
1/4 c. crushed walnuts
-With the back of a fork, mix, pressing against the side of your bowl until a crumble forms
-Spoon 2 t. (heaping) over each muffin batter, fully covering each top
-Place tin in the oven on the center rack and set your timer for 11 minutes
The Orange Drizzle:
1 c. xylitol powdered sugar (not the same as above...it comes in the same packaging, but you need to get the one that says "confectionary" on it)
3 T. orange juice (the same oj you used from above)
1 T. lime juice (or lemon...doesn't make a huge enough difference)
-Once your timer goes off, bump the heat down to 375, and VERY GENTLY rotate the muffin tin so that the front muffins are now in the back...if you bump the muffin tin or move them roughly, they won't raise all the way, and they won't look as pretty!
-Bake for another 11-13 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
-Let muffins cool in the tin
-Right before serving, drizzle with a good helping of the Orange Drizzle and enjoy!!
-These muffins look like they have a lot of ingredients, but you will never EVER regret making them (unless you eat all 6 muffins in the same day!)...and they are very simple to make...it's not a fussy recipe at all! I get RAVE reviews from everyone who has tried them, and you will too!!
