After-Pesach Muffins

I'm a big muffin fan.

Muffins are an easy way to pack fruit, nuts and fiber into a few easy-to-make delicious bites. They make a quick snack and are perfect with fresh fruit and tea on Shabbat morning.

How did I end up with muffins after Passover this year? Normally we eat home-made granola for breakfast. But immediately after Pesach, that's a problem. I usually make granola in large quantities – enough to last a month or so, and who has time and energy to do that right after Passover?

So we bought a box of muesli to tide us over. Muesli is the unbaked version of granola, without sweetener and oil. Ours had rolled oats, wheat, bran and lots of raisins.  It was fine for a few days, until I was ready to make my own granola. Then I was left with almost a full box of muesli. Here's what I made:

Muesli Muffins (Dairy)

1¼ cups muesli

1¼ cups low-fat buttermilk

¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup canola oil

1 egg

1/3 cup brown sugar

Combine the muesli and buttermilk in a bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

After the muesli has softened in the buttermilk for 30 minutes, add the oil, egg, brown sugar and flour mixture and gently mix everything together. Don't over mix.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. These do not rise much.

Remove to a baking rack to cool.

Makes 12 muffins