I’ve had two brief stints with musical instruments. The first was a year or two of the piano in elementary school. The piano fizzled out after awhile because we didn’t have actually have a piano. I’m pretty sure my teacher could tell my “practicing” on our borrowed keyboard wasn’t doing me any favors.
A few years later, as a freshman in high school, I signed up for a guitar class to be held in the three weeks over our Winterim session. This time around, my parents realized that the toy ukelele they’d brought back from Hawaii wasn’t going to cut it. Christmas morning I opened a giant box holding my very own guitar. I diligently strummed my guitar every day for three weeks, plucking out the notes to a few random songs. Within a few weeks of the class ending, the guitar began collecting dust in the corner of my bedroom. It still sits at my parents house in some closet, just waiting for me to pick it up again someday. Third time’s a charm?!
Playing a musical instrument was one hobby I couldn’t keep up with. Cooking has proven to be quite different! I’ve come a long way in three years. My various baking sheets and muffin tins and kitchen tools are far from gathering dust (streaks of flour and sugar are another story though!). What’s kept me interesting in cooking and baking is the fact that I feel like I’ll never run out of recipes to try. 
These dried berry wheat germ muffins turned out fantastic. Ryan told me several times how much he liked them. The original Cooking Light recipe called for dried cherries, but I picked up a bag of mixed dried fruit that included cherries, blueberries, plums, and cranberries. These weren’t a super sweet muffin, making them a good option for breakfast with a piece of fruit. The wheat germ in them gives them an extra dose of fiber!
Readers, tell me about one of hobbies you didn’t follow through on? Surely I’m not the only one to ditch a musical instrument…!
Print
Dried Berry and Wheat Germ Muffins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
Muffins healthy enough for breakfast–featuring wheat germ and dried berries!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) whole wheat pastry flour
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) dried fruit
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) wheat germ
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice (I instead subbed 1/8 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp cloves, and 1/8 tsp black pepper)
- 1 cup (240 ml) low-fat buttermilk
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) canola oil
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Combine flour, dried fruit, wheat germ, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and allspice in a large bowl, stirring to mix well.
- In a separate bowl, mix buttermilk, oil, and egg, stirring well with a whisk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture into the dry. Stir just until moist.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan on a wire rack before removing and allowing to cool completely. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
- from Cooking Light, May 2011
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 180
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a single type of dried fruit instead of a mixed bag?
Absolutely. I used a mixed bag of cherries, blueberries, plums, and cranberries, but the original Cooking Light version called for dried cherries alone. Any dried fruit you enjoy will work fine as long as you keep the total amount at 3/4 cup.
What does the wheat germ actually contribute to these muffins?
That 1/2 cup of wheat germ adds a real boost of fiber and a mild, nutty flavor. It also gives the muffins a slightly denser, heartier texture, which is exactly what makes them satisfying enough to eat for breakfast rather than just as a sweet treat.
I don’t have allspice. What can I substitute?
I swapped it myself: instead of 1/4 tsp allspice I used 1/8 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and black pepper. Together they approximate allspice’s warm, spicy profile perfectly well.
