Desserts don’t always have to be very sweet. Muffins made with whole grains with added dried fruits and nuts make a great desert alternative. My boys prefer this kind of desserts over ice creams or cakes. They do love the traditional sweets and if given a chance would always choose them over anything else. But other than that, they don’t like overly sweet desserts. I make muffins very often with different fruit combinations and it always works great as after school snack or a dessert.

There are days when we are done with dinner very soon and they want something to eat before they get to bed. That is when these muffins with a glass of milk come in very handy. Lately, I have been involving my older one quite a bit when I am baking. This muffin was entirely made by him with me just standing next to him and giving him instructions.

When baking egg less bakes, bananas are my best choice. They add a lot of moisture in the muffin and the texture comes out great. This batter would use a little more liquid than other muffins as it has wheat flour in it and wheat flour needs more moisture.

My other recipes this Marathon – 

Preparation time – 10 minutes
Baking time – 15 – 18 minutes
Difficulty level – easy

Ingredients – (makes 24 small muffins)

• Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
• All purpose flour – ½ cup
• Flax meal – 3 tbsp
• Baking soda – 1 tsp
• Baking powder – 2 tsp
• Brown sugar – 1 cup
• Banana – 1 cup (mashed)
• Milk – 1 cup
• Butter – 4 tbsp (softened)
• Vanilla – 1 tsp
• Cranberries – ½ cup (I used dried cranberries)
• Almond – ¼ cup (coarsely chopped)

• In a large bowl, mash the bananas. I used about 2 large bananas. Overripe bananas work well for the recipe.
• Add the softened butter and beat well.
• Add the brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder and beat well until the mixture is creamy.
• Now add the milk and mix well. The mixture will appear curdled, so don’t worry.
• In another bowl, combine the flours and the flax meal.
• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and gently mix. Don’t over beat at this stage as it will make the muffins turn hard.
• If preferred, coarsely chop the dried cranberries. Reserve some almonds to layer on top and then add them along with the cranberries to the batter and gently mix.
• Prepare the muffin tins by lining them with liners and spraying them with oil.
• Evenly distribute the batter into the tins. Add the reserved almonds on top of the batter.

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake the muffins for 15 to 18 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.

• Cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.