I know it’s hard to fathom, even for me, but I haven’t eaten refined white sugar for over four years.  I am one of the biggest sugar addicts I know.  I imagine it’s like heroin – highly addictive and fun, with a lot of negative side effects.  Not that I would know this heroin thing from personal experience, mind you.

One thing I know: not eating refined sugar and instead reaching for healthier alternatives that taste just as good (or better) than the white stuff has made me healthier and more even-keeled emotionally, which is a good thing, believe me.

Just ask my husband.

My kids love these muffins like nothing else.  In fact, when I want to spoil them or get them on my good side, I bake these yummy breakfast morsels in the morning and have them ready for when they wake up  There’s nothing like the smell of these freshly-baked muffins to rouse my teenagers from sleep.

They are super easy and fast to make, so let me show you how you, too, can get on your kids’ good side.  Food bribing works.  Ahem.

Servings: 16 muffins

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups pure maple syrup, preferably Grade B (Grade A works fine too)
• 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• Softened unsalted butter, for greasing the pan, or paper liners for muffins (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F and put rack in middle.

In a large bowl, combine all the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and melted butter.  Whisk in the milk, then the egg and egg yolk.  Add this to the dry ingredients and whisk until it’s just smooth.  Stir in the walnuts and blueberries.  The berries can be fresh or frozen.  Or leave out blueberries and add a whole cup of walnuts instead.

Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.

Grease the muffin pan with softened butter, or place the muffin paper liners in the cups.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins til they are almost full.  Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375°F and bake for about 15 minutes more, or until the muffins are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove muffins from the pan. Serve warm with butter, or place on a rack to cool.

Good luck waiting that long.  My kids grab these muffins as soon as they come out of the oven.  Well, okay, I admit it, I do the same thing, too.