Have you ever heard one of those pop song mashups, where they take two songs with similar chord progressions and meld them together? It probably just goes to show how similar all pop music is, but I still get a kick out of how cool it sounds to layer one song on top of another. (Don’t tell my husband, who is all about music being unique–have I mentioned his website, MakeWeirdMusic.com?) There are a few mashups I’ve heard and really enjoyed, though, like one that matched Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” with “Stand by Me”:
or this one that layered Beyonce’s “Halo” with “Walking on Sunshine”:
Anyway, the point is that sometimes two things can go together in unexpected ways that just work…
…which brings me to these whole wheat granola muffins, which I like to think of as a Breakfast Mashup. Take two breakfast items that don’t seem to go together–granola and muffins–and meld them into one! It’s a breakfast pop hit! But wait, you might say. Isn’t putting the crunch of granola into a soft-and-chewy baked good kind of counterintuitive? Won’t the granola create an unpleasant harshness? That’s certainly what I would have thought, but having made these muffins twice now, I can attest that is not the case. The magic of baking softens the granola just enough to add a crunch that is pleasantly noticeable, but not tooth-breakingly obvious. Plus, the warmth of cinnamon and heartiness of whole wheat flour go hand in hand with just about any pre-made granola you can name. I chose an apple-cinnamon variety with great results.
To ensure these muffins don’t turn out dry (as can sometimes happen with whole wheat-based baked goods), I’m going to let you in on a little secret I’ve found helpful: break out the food scale. Accurately measured flour always makes for better baking, and measuring cups can be deceiving. The white whole wheat flour I used was 120 grams in 1 cup, and my measuring cup weighs 26 grams, so this is what an accurately measured 1 cup of flour looked like for me:
So, what breakfast mashups can we come up with next? Egg-flavored cereal? Sausage smoothies? Just kidding. Stick with granola muffins for a sure bet for a delicious, whole grain-packed breakfast mashup to start your day off right.
Whole Wheat Granola Muffins
(Adapted from King Arthur Flour)
Ingredients:
2 c. whole wheat (or white whole wheat) flour
2/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. prepared granola
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 c. plain Greek yogurt
1/2 c. milk
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
- In large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and granola.
- In a separate bowl, combine vanilla, vegetable oil, yogurt, and milk. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined.
- Divide batter evenly between muffin cups and bake 18-20 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins.
