Brighten Your Breakfast With a Lighter Blueberry Muffin

TUESDAY, May 14, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- There's nothing quite like the smell and taste of warm blueberry muffins. But when you buy them from a local bakery or your favorite coffee shop, they can clock in at 500 calories or more.

Making your own is well worth the time, because you can shave off 300 calories a pop.

This recipe uses whole-wheat pastry flour, available at most supermarkets, as well as online. It has the same whole-grain goodness and fiber of regular whole-wheat flour, but is much softer and makes a more tender baked good. The yield is a dozen muffins, so you can enjoy them throughout the week.

Lighter Blueberry Muffins

• 1-1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin or use paper liners.

Place flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and stir well.

In a medium bowl, mix sugar and butter with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the egg, buttermilk, lemon zest and juice. Add the dry ingredients and stir until a batter forms, about 10 strokes with the spoon.

Fill muffin cups to the top. Sprinkle evenly with the blueberries. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until muffins spring back to the touch. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Note: For extra fruitiness, double the blueberries. Simply toss one cup of berries with one additional tablespoon of whole-wheat pastry flour. Gently fold into the batter just before filling the muffin tins, then top with the remaining cup of berries as directed.

Yield: 12 muffins

More information

The USDA has more muffin recipes that are lower in sugar and fat than traditional bakery recipes.