Strawberry Granola Muffins + Bear Naked Giveaway

Featured Ingredient: Granola

I’ve always had a soft spot for granola. It must be that lethal crunchy and sweet combination. I’ll admit that it’s a late night vice for me.

And for muffin lovers, stirring some into the batter results in an interesting textural contrast tht you don’t get with straight up flour. Case in point: These whole-grain strawberry delights are perfect when you only have time for a breakfast on the go. Or warm in the microwave and serve warm with a dollop of honey. Now that strawberry season is over, it’s a good opportunity to use the convenient frozen berries which can be tossed into the mix straight from the freezer.

Milled from the whole-grain quinoa, salubrious quinoa flour has soft texture and grassy flavor that mellows with cooking. If you don’t have it on hand, you can simply use straight up whole wheat pastry flour for these muffins or another flour combination of your choice.

As it the case every Wednesday, it’s time for another Muffin Tin Mania product giveaway. The kind folks over at Bear Naked would like to award one of my readers with some of their crunchy fruit infused granola to try out in this recipe or to simply spoon up with some milk. 

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post that says “I’d get naked for granola” along with some way of identifying yourself such as your initials, name or email address and I will use this online tool to randomly select a winner. I’ll announce the winner next Wednesday September 19th, so if you entered write the date down on your calendar and check back in then for a chance to claim your prize. This contest is only open to U.S residents.

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. Congrats to Sarah who was randomly selected as the winner. 

Strawberry Granola Muffins

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup quinoa flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup palm sugar or other granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 large egg

1/3 cup melted coconut oil or other oil of choice

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

2 teaspoons orange zest

1 1/2 cups granola of choice

1 1/2 cups sliced fresh or frozen strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, flaxseed, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg. Stir in oil, sour cream and orange zest. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in 1 cup granola and all of the strawberries. Divide batter among 12 standard sized greased or paper lined muffin cups and sprinkle remaining granola on top of the batter. Bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out nearly clean. Let cool several minutes before unmolding.