Yummy Raspberry Muffins

These yummy Raspberry Muffins are light and fluffy, dotted with fresh raspberries and topped with a lid of crunchy nuts and sugar bits. So easy to make, yet they feel so special!

In case you’re inspired to bake muffins here is one of my all-time favorites. It’s from my stained and tattered (as all good cookbooks should be) copy of All the Best Muffins and Quick Breads by Joie Warner.

This is my “guilt-free” adaptation, using whole wheat pastry flour and scant. If you prefer, you can use unbleached all-purpose flour and granulated sugar. You can also substitute other kinds of berries if you want as well.

Ingredients for these raspberry muffins

For the muffins: 

• Whole wheat pastry flour – This flour gives all the nutrition of regular whole wheat flour, but produces a more tender crumb. You can also use regular AP flour if you want.
• Granulated sugar – Or you can also use natural cane sugar, or sucanat. 
• Baking powder – This is needed for your muffins to rise.
• Cinnamon – I love the addition of cinnamon in these muffins! Don’t leave it out.
• Salt – A little salt always helps to balance all the sweetness.
• Milk – Any milk you want to use is fine.
• Oil – I used a neutral oil, like canola or vegetable. 
• Eggs – Two whole large eggs. Just give them a quick whisk before adding them to your bowl.
• Orange – I love a little fresh citrus zest to help brighten up these muffins. Pairs beautifully with the raspberries.
• Raspberries – I used fresh, but you can use frozen berries as well. Just don’t thaw them first. 

For the streusel topping: 

• Brown sugar – I use light brown sugar but dark brown sugar would also work. 
• Whole wheat pastry flour – Again, AP flour would work fine here. 
• Butter – I like using unsalted butter, and it needs to be softened so it works into the mixture easily. 
• Almonds – I love using sliced almonds here so it gives the the topping a bit of a crunch. 

How to make raspberry muffins

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin papers.
• Whisk together the flour, sucanat, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, eggs, and orange zest until blended. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and add the raspberries. Fold just until combined; do not overmix. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, dividing evenly.
• To make the topping, combine the brown sugar, flour, and butter in a small bowl with a fork, stir in the almonds then sprinkle evenly over muffin tops.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Fresh or frozen raspberries? 

Aw, the million dollar question! The best thing is you can use either.

If you do use frozen raspberries, just be sure to not thaw them first. If you thaw the berries first it will add to much liquid to your batter. So just add them frozen and fold in gently.

HOW CAN I MAKE IT EASY TO MAKE MUFFINS MORE OFTEN?

Having mixes premade is such a happy thing for me. No measuring too early in the morning, no flour flying. And I especially love it that I can customize mixes. Since it’s so easy to prepare baked goods with a homemade mix, I feel a little added inspiration to get creative.

This homemade muffin mix allows you not only to have a homemade mix at the ready, but it also offers you a lot of freedom in your baking. Add whatever “mix-ins” sound good to you.

CAN YOU FREEZE THESE MUFFINS?

Muffins are great for freezing. Why buy one at the coffee shop when you can bake them yourself for 40 cents each? Freezing helps you keep up your muffin habit for a lot less cash.

To freeze:

• Prepare the muffins according to the recipe. Cool completely on a rack.
• For individual freezing, wrap each in plastic or beeswax wrap and place them all in ziptop freezer bag.
• For freezing many, place them in a large container with a lid, tucking parchment, deli wraps, or beeswax wrap around them as a layer of protection against the cold.
• To serve: place the desire number of muffins on the counter about an hour before serving. They will thaw at room temperature. 

CAN I CHANGE THE FLAVORING OF THESE MUFFINS?

Absolutely! 

• Use a favorite extract. Add just 1 teaspoon to the batter. Almond extract would be fantastic!
• Use a different zest. Lime or lemon and grapefruit will all be delicious.
• Use a different milk. You can swap out regular milk and use coconut milk for regular cow’s milk, almond milk, or other plant-based milk. If you want to get wild, you can also use brewed tea, such as Earl Grey, instead of the milk.
• Add some chocolate chips. Try stirring in some dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and semisweet. 

DO YOU NEED SPECIAL EQUIPMENT TO MAKE MUFFINS?

After years of weekly muffin baking, I’ve come across a few tools that I absolutely LOVE for muffin baking:

• parchment muffin papers – I prefer using muffin papers since we’re such an on-the-go household. Muffin liners make it easier for transport as well as serving. I’ve found that parchment is the best for not sticking to the muffin.
• USA muffin pan – Whether you use papers or not, the USA pan is the best for easy clean up since there’s no need to grease the pan. Everything cleans up easily.
• Rubber spatula – I like to get every last bit of batter to make sure my muffins are big. A rubber spatula makes that easy.
• stainless steel mixing bowls – A good set of mixing bowls makes baking such a pleasure!
• 1/4 cup scoop – This scoop is ideal for dividing the dough easily and with less mess.

How I make this a good cheap eat:

Follow the Good Cheap Eats system and you’ll be able to shave more off the price of these delicious, homemade muffins. 

• Visit the store with the best prices. There is a wide range of prices charged for the exact same product, depending on where you shop. Be sure that you’re frequenting the store that offers the best prices overall.
• Check the sales and clearance. The highest priced items here are the milk, raspberries, and almonds. Watch for sales on these items and stock up so you can make budget muffins whenever you want. The holidays time is great for having sales on things like nuts.
• Opt for lower price alternatives. As mentioned earlier, you can swap out ingredients for others like the milk. Using regular dairy milk would reduce the cost of this batch down by 87 cents, making your muffins 33 cents a piece.

If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!