The great muffin quest - episode one

I'm trying to figure out some "grab-and-go" breakfast that won't bore me to tears and won't fill me full of trans fats. Thus was born the great muffin quest of 2008 as I feel blueberry muffins might just be the answer to my prayers.


Based on the rave reviews their pancake mix got over Thanksgiving, I turned to Hodgson Mill for my two base mixes. The first option was the Whole Wheat Wild Blueberry Muffin Mix. It has a delightful little blueberry-colored banner on the front of the box boasting, "Made with 100% Whole Grain Flour & Milled Flax Seed!" and another little seal saying, "450mg Omega-3 Oils per serving."

I mixed the box according to the instructions (yield listed as 7-8 muffins). I added an extra half cup of blueberries (dusted with flour to keep them suspended in the batter) for a little extra burst of flavor. But boy let me tell you, this batter was thick. In my little silicone muffin "tins" I put about a 1/2 cup of batter into 9 holes. The rose a little...just enough to have that little top, but thankfully didn't spill over. (I checked in on them periodically throughout the 16 minutes the box said just to make sure.) I put a toothpick in the center of two of them at the 16 minute mark, and they needed a couple more minutes. After 2 more minutes in the oven and 10 minutes of cooling, I popped them out of the silicone and put them on another rack (truth be told, the "cooling rack" I used at this point was an overturned flat bottomed basket in which you would cook smaller veggies on a grill).

They're deceptively moist, so that's good. They're also very blueberry-y...so that's also good. But I really thought they were greatly improved with one spritz per bite of I Can't Believe it's Not Butter.


When these are gone, I'll move on to the next mix and let you know how it goes.