Strawberry Orange Muffins #RecipeMakeover #MuffinMonday

This first day of Recipe Makeover by the ladies of The PinterTest Kitchen just happens to fall on Muffin Monday, a group led by Stacy of Food Lust People Love.  So naturally, the first recipe that I a sharing today is for a delicious and healthier muffin that I adapted from Eating Well.

Recipe Makeover is a sponsored event.  You can read all about our sponsors and enter to win a fantastic giveaway over at my Welcome Post.  Our sponsors are very generous.  Not only did they supply great items to be raffled off to you, our readers, but Barleans also sent me some butter flavored coconut oil and a package of their Digestive Blend.  I am under no obligation to use these products for recipes developed for this event nor did I receive any monetary compensation from this or any other of the sponsors.  All opinions are 100% honest and mine.

I did choose to adapt the recipe from Eating Well slightly by substituting the butter flavored coconut oil for the canola oil in the original.  Only 2 Tablespoons were used in the nut streusel so there was not a pronounced butter flavor but there was the satisfaction of using a product that has different nutritional value,  according to livestrong.com:

 Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides, and this type of saturated fat could be beneficial for increasing energy without raising blood sugar levels, notes nutritionist Dr. Jonny Bowden.

The article went on to say that a combination of both types of oil, coconut and canola, in moderation provides the best health benefits to your diet.

Other components that makes these muffins healthier is using lowfat buttermilk instead of milk and butter in the batter.  It also swaps out some of the AP flour to White Whole Wheat flour which has the same nutritional properties as regular whole wheat flour. Adding fresh fruit juice, fruit and nuts to the batter also gives you sweetness with a minimal amount of added refined sugar.  I chose to not add any additional oil to the batter for the muffins as included in the original recipe.  I found that they still baked up moist and tender and released easily from the pan.

The final result?  While these were not the most beautiful muffins I have ever made, they were one of the tastiest.  They were light and moist and I loved the nutty streusel topping.  

This is a muffin that I can enjoy guilt free for breakfast or a snack and feel good about serving to my family and friends as we visit over a cup of coffee.  Life doesn't get much better than that!

Strawberry Orange Muffins
adapted from Eating Well

Streusel Topping

3 T. raw almonds
2 T. All Purpose Flour
2 T. brown sugar
zest of one orange
pinch of salt
2 T. coconut oil, melted

Batter

3/4 c. All Purpose Flour
1 c. White Whole Wheat Flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 c. brown sugar
Juice of 3 oranges plus low fat buttermilk to equal 1 cup
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 qt. strawberries, chopped

For Streusel

Place almonds, flour, brown sugar, orange zest and salt in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the coconut oil. Set aside

For Batter

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk together the brown sugar, orange juice/buttermilk mixture, egg and vanilla.  Add, all at once to the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.  The batter will be thick at this point.  Stir in the chopped strawberries and their juices until combined and divide between a 12 cup muffin pan that has been liberally treated with baking spray.  Sprinkle the streusel over the batter and bake in a preheated 400* oven for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted removes cleanly.  Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely on the wire rack.  Print Recipe

More Amazing Muffins

• Buttersquash Muffins by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Graham Cracker Muffins with Carrots and Raisins by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Lemon Crumb Muffins by Making Miracles
• Strawberry Orange Muffins by A Day in the Life in the Farm

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

Let's see what recipes the others are sharing for Recipe Makeover today

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