Fruit and Cereal Muffins

Note/Suggestions: This is a great all purpose, go-to food. It is a healthy breakfast, school snack, classroom treat or after school snack. Making them in muffin tins with liners adds the ease of portion control and portability, but in a pinch you can also make them in a baking pan and cut them into rectangles

This recipe will make 24 regular sized muffins.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups puffed whole grain cereal: rice, wheat, corn, multigrain or combination of cereals will do
• 1 ¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cup white wheat flour
• ½ cup low fat milk
• 2 t baking soda
• 2 t apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
• ½ t salt
• 1 cup applesauce
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
• ¾ cup chopped dried fruit or berries: apricots, goji berries, craisins, cherries, apples, raisins, etc
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 t vanilla
• 4 large egg whites

Equipment:

• standing mixer with paddle or sturdy hand mixer and stable bowl
• standard sized muffin tins
• muffin liners - optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare muffin tins with a non stick cooking spray or by using muffin liners. You can cook these in two batches to make life easier. Use muffing liners if you do so.
2. Put all dry ingredients in mixer and mix well.
3. Add applesauce, oil, vanilla, egg whites, and dried fruit. Mix until well incorporated.
4. Add blueberries and mix again until just worked through, but the blueberries aren’t completely smashed.
5. Fill each muffin tin just over half way. Try to fill each tin evenly. Using a standard ice cream scooper works well to accomplish evenness.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool for five minutes in the tins and then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cooled.
8. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks or freeze for up to three months.

Tip: To add a frosting, mix light whipped cream cheese with juice from left over berries to sweeten and color. Spread on cooled muffins.