Jacksonville Country Day School

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

1 (6 oz. container) fat-free yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons skim milk (or soy/rice/almond)
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
zest from 1 meyer lemon (optional)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (or a mixture of different berries)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners, or grease it and set aside.

Whisk the yogurt, milk, oil, and eggs until smooth, then mix in the vanilla.

In a seperate, large bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Stir in the lemon zest, if using; brown sugar and granulated sugar. Then, stir the berries and chocolate chips into the flour mixture until they are well coated.

Fold in the yogurt mixture, and still until there are no significant bits of dry flour. The batter will be quite dry, more like scone mixture.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, dividing evenly between each hole. You can fill these all the way to the top...they will rise some, but not excessively. Top each with a few more chocolate chips to the side, if you like.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes (15 minutes for minis) or until the tops are nicely golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Chocolate Pecan Streusel Muffins

Topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Muffins:
1 3/4 cups semisweet (or milk) chocolate chips, divided
1/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Topping:
Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons melted butter in small bowl with fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; stir in pecans.

For Muffins:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F; grease or paper-line 12 muffin cups or 24 mini-muffin cups.
2. Combine 1 cup morsels, milk, and 3 tablespoons butter in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave on full power for about 60 seconds and then stir until morsels are melted and mixture is smooth; if not fully melted, put back in for 10 second intervals.
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, pecans, and remaining morsels in large bowl.
4. Combine egg, vanilla extract, and melted morsel mixture in small bowl; stir into flour mixture just until moistened.
5. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full then sprinkle with Topping.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (10 to 15 minutes for minis) then cool for 5 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Oatmeal Pancakes

1 cup of oats*
5 egg whites
Oil or butter (I use Smart Balance Organic Spread)

Mix oats and egg whites well. Pour onto a buttered skillet pan and spread evenly. Let cook for a few minutes, then flip. Cook the other side. The pancake should be golden brown and served warm.

The recipe yields one 8" pancake.

*I recommend using flavored instant oatmeal. That way there is no need to add butter or syrup. For the cooking demo, I used Quaker Oats Organic Maple Brown Sugar and Quaker Oats Cinnamon and Spice.