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Last month I was looking for a master muffin recipe to use in my Baking Basics class at our co-op. I had plans to develop one based on the countless muffins I’ve baked over the years, but did not have time to put it together before class.

Instead, I grabbed a master muffin recipe from a popular, trustworthy baking site and grabbed all the ingredients we would need to bake. The muffins were delicious, it’s true. But they were much more like cupcakes than the muffins I usually bake. They were loaded with butter and sugar, where my preference is to sweeten with natural sweeteners as much as possible, and often to use healthy subs and ingredients like applesauce, yogurt, etc.

I promised my class I would add to their recipe notebooks with another muffin option the following week. (You know, in case a group of kids wanted a less-cupcake-like version).

We eat muffins regularly for breakfast, lunch, and snacks because they’re so portable, easy, and the variations are endless. This master muffin recipe makes it even easier to play around with different flavor combinations and allows you to use the ingredients you have on hand.

Naturally Sweetened Master Muffin Recipe

The base of this recipe is a mix of flour and old-fashioned oats. You could also substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour to make the muffins gluten-free.

After the dry base of the muffin mix, you have a few different options. Each option will yield a slightly different taste to your muffins, so have fun and try several variations. 

For the “fat”, you can use butter, coconut oil, applesauce, or Greek yogurt. Pick honey or maple syrup as a liquid natural sweetener. Keep the vanilla extract for a traditional flavor, or substitute another extract like almond, lemon, orange, etc.

Once your batter is mixed together, you can gently stir in your additions. I provide several ideas in the recipe like nuts, seeds, dried fruit, chocolate, and more. You can even divide the batter at this point and make a few different combinations in one pan! 

A personal favorite muffin combination of mine is orange, sliced almonds, and almond extract. So good.

I also highly recommend parchment muffin liners for the easiest clean up ever. I try to always have them on hand, and miss them whenever I’m out and have to wash my muffin pans out.

More Like This :: 

• 50+ Lunch Tray Ideas
• 12 Easy Homemade Bread Recipes
• From Scratch Breakfast Biscuits

Naturally Sweetened Master Muffin Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

• Author: Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 18 minutes
• Total Time: 28 minutes
• Yield: 12 muffins 1x

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Description

A naturally sweetened muffin recipe with endless options! Use this one recipe to make all kinds of muffins, with easy, healthy ingredients. Choose from butter, coconut oil, or applesauce for your “fat”, then sweeten the muffins with honey or maple syrup. Finish with any combination of add-ins you’re in the mood for!

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Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter/coconut oil/applesauce/Greek yogurt (pick one)
• 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1 cup milk or whey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
• 1 1/2 cup add-ins**

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt). Stir to incorporate. In a large liquid measuring cup or another mixing bowl, stir together the wet ingredients until well-blended.
3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until almost no streaks of flour remain. Dump in whatever add-ins you are using, then stir until everything is evenly distributed and no streaks of flour remain. (If the mixture is too wet, you can add 2-4 tablespoons of flour to the batter. You want the batter to be wetter than bread dough, but not runny).
4. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan, or add parchment muffin cups. Fill each muffin cup with the batter, until each cup has the same amount. (Optional) Top the muffins with turbinado or demerera sugar before baking.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes, or until the muffin tops spring back when gently pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

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Notes

*vanilla extract is the most all-purpose extract to use in baked goods, but you can also sub for a different extract to try other flavor combinations

**Add-In Ideas:

• nuts & seeds (chopped walnuts or pecans, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, etc)
• dried fruit (raisins, dried blueberries, dates, etc)
• fresh fruit (chopped apples, mashed banana, blueberries, diced strawberries, etc)
• chocolate (dark, semi-sweet, white)

Favorite Combos:

• banana & walnut (w/ honey and coconut oil)
• blueberry & white chocolate (w/ maple syrup and applesauce)
• mandarin orange & almond (w/ almond extract, orange zest, butter, and maple syrup)

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The post Naturally Sweetened Master Muffin Recipe appeared first on This Pilgrim Life.

I call these “back pocket” pancakes because that’s what they are– simple and straightfoward, the kind of recipe you want to have in your back pocket for frequent use. Moreover, this one recipe can be used for so much. Drop in some blueberries while they cook. Add a couple teaspoons of sweet spices. Enjoy them with butter and maple syrup. Maybe even topped a heap of whipped cream.

(It’s easy to make fresh whipped cream in your Vitamix or blender!)

We enjoyed stacks of these pancakes this morning (a school morning!) with homemade blueberry sauce and whipped cream. It was a perfectly delicious way to start our school day.

All-Purpose From-Scratch Pancakes

I occasionally make these with freshly ground flour for a little more nutrition, and I like to use whey (leftover from making yogurt) for a little savings in our grocery budget.

Whip up a batch of these delicious pancakes– or get your kids to do it for you– and then tell me in the comments how your family likes to enjoy pancakes. What are your favorite toppings? 

Back Pocket Pancakes

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

• Author: Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: About 30 4" pancakes 1x
• Category: Breakfast

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Description

This from-scratch pancake recipe is one you’ll want to have in your back pocket! It’s super easy and so versatile. Serve them with butter and maple syrup, fresh fruit and whipped cream, throw in some blueberries…the options are endless! 

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Ingredients

• 3 C flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 C maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 C melted butter (or applesauce)
• 2 – 2 1/2 C milk or whey

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Instructions

1. Heat a cast iron griddle or other griddle over medium heat. (If not using cast iron, you can wait until about five minutes before starting before heating the pan). Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. In a large measuring cup, whisk the maple syrup and eggs. Stir in the cooled melted butter, and then 2 cups of the milk/whey. Add additional milk/whey a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. (When I use fresh flour, I add an additional half cup because the fresh flour absorbs more liquid).
3. Grease your griddle with a thin layer of butter, then pour quarter cup portions on the griddle, about an inch apart. Cook the pancakes until small bubbles appear on the surface, then flip them over and cook for one to two minutes on the other side until golden brown.
4. Continue cooking the pancakes until you run out of batter, keeping the cooked pancakes in the warm oven until you are ready to eat.
5. Serve with maple syrup, butter, fresh fruit, whipped cream, or other toppings of choice.

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Notes

I use this pancake recipe for almost all our pancake breakfasts. It’s very versatile. Change things up by adding sweet spices, blueberries, chocolate chips, etc.

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The links below may be affiliate links, meaning I earn a small compensation at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure policy here. 

I’m a big fan of waffles (my preference over pancakes), and this time of the year (late summer when I’m swimming in garden produce), I’m especially a fan of ways to put our garden harvest to use.

Our zucchini plants have produced prolifically this summer, so besides eating the veggies immediately, putting them up for later, and giving them away, I’m also trying to come up with new uses so nothing is wasted.

These sourdough chocolate chip zucchini waffles are one of the new ways I’m using up zucchini. (I’ll share the other ways I’m using zucchini at the end of this post, just before the recipe). 

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Zucchini Waffles

These waffles are made with sourdough “discard”. I like to feed my sourdough starter regularly during the week so I have enough discard to use on the weekends for special breakfasts. Besides waffles, sourdough pancakes are also a big hit. You could also simply feed a larger amount a day or two before you wanted sourdough waffles, reserving the extra, the “discard”, in the fridge until you need it.

Besides sourdough discard, the waffles have 2 cups of shredded zucchini. You can shred the zucchini with a box grater or a food processor. I absolutely LOVE my food processor for shredding vegetables because it turns a ten minute job into a 30 second job.

The chocolate isn’t absolutely necessary, but it’s definitely a nice touch. I’ve used both dark chocolate and semisweet chocolate in these waffles with good results.

Finally, I never liked making waffles until I got my Krups waffle maker because I felt like it took forever to make all the waffles. This waffle maker makes 4 big waffles at a time. Highly recommend! 

I’ve shared about putting up our garden produce on Instagram a lot. If you enjoy seeing recipes and food ideas, be sure to check me out there! I have a highlight dedicated to our garden this year with easy clips of what I’ve shared and links to relevant posts.

Here is a breakdown of what I’ve been doing with our zucchini. I’m always looking for more ways to put up zucchini for later, so let me know in the comments if you have a favorite way I haven’t listed!

Enjoying zucchini…

NOW :: 

• sautéed zucchini and squash
• roasted zucchini spears 
• fried zucchini
• zucchini waffles
• zucchini  muffins
• zucchini “zoodle” lo mein
• Garden Pasta Primavera

LATER ::

• dehydrated zucchini chips
• canned pineapple zucchini
• freezing shredded zucchini

More ideas on how to process your garden harvest here! 

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Waffles

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• Author: Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 12 waffles 1x

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Description

I love the taste of these chocolate chip zucchini waffles! Made with sourdough discard, shredded zucchini, and bits of chocolate, they’re such a fun and tasty breakfast!

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Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 cups sourdough discard
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup milk or whey
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 cup choc chips (semisweet or dark)

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Instructions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour through the sea salt). Whisk together until incorporated. In a large glass measuring cup, combine the wet ingredients (sourdough discard, eggs, butter, and milk). Whisk together until smooth.
2. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir well until no dry streaks remain. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Let stand ten minutes.
3. Heat your waffle iron, then grease with melted butter or cooking spray.
4. Pour the waffle batter into the hot, grease waffle iron once the plates are hot. Cook until your waffles are done, according to your preference. Transfer the finished waffles to a plate and keep warm. Repeat making waffles until you run out of batter.
5. Serve with maple syrup, butter, and/or your favorite waffle toppings.

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The post Sourdough Chocolate Chip Zucchini Waffles appeared first on This Pilgrim Life.