Saturday, December 08, 2012

Muggins! (Muffin in a Mug)

2012-12-08 09.01.21

This is my new favorite breakfast. It's hearty, filling, tasty, quick, and easy. Win-win-win-win-win! I found the original Muggin recipe at Nana Clare's Kitchen. I haven't changed it much, but I have tweaked it a bit, and summarized the variants into one base recipe, so I'm sharing it again, here. I can't take credit for the original idea, though.

It all started a few weeks ago when Valerie asked if we could make chocolate cake in a mug for breakfast. We occasionally make chocolate cake in a mug together as a fun dessert (using this recipe), and I got to thinking, hmm, maybe we could make something healthier, like an oatmeal muffin, in a mug for breakfast? I whipped up a batch of Nana Clare's Muggins, and we were sold! I brought the jar of mix with me on our recent trip to WNY, and I've already passed it along to several people. It's Muggin Mania!

Without further ado, here's the recipe:

Mix:
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white wheat flour)
1 cup rolled oats (I used old fashioned oats, but you can use quick oats)
1/2 cup ground flax meal
1/2 cup wheat germ OR oat bran (I've been using oat bran)
3 Tbsp baking powder

Put mix ingredients in a quart-sized mason jar and shake until combined. Store for 2-3 months (if it lasts that long). Mix makes about 17 muggins.

Basic Muggin:
1 egg (I've been using large eggs, but small eggs might make it less spongey)
2 Tbsp plain yogurt OR unsweetened applesauce OR half a banana (All 3 are delicious, and very different)
1-3 tsp honey OR maple syrup OR other sweetener (I've been using 1/2 Tbsp or 1.5 tsp of honey)
3 Tbsp mix
*flavor variants*
*2 Tbsp of mix-ins* (opt.)

Put liquid ingredients in a large mug (at least 12-16 oz). Mix well with a fork or spoon. Add mix, and stir until combined. Fold in any mix-ins like fruits/nuts/candy at the end.

Microwave on high for 1.5 to 2 minutes. It's okay if the muffin rises above the top of the mug while cooking, it will shrink back down a bit when it's done. Jiggle mug a bit to loosen sides, and transfer immediately to a plate (if you leave it in the mug, it gets slimy from the steam).

A note on texture: Muggins have a slightly different texture from a regular muffin. They are extremely fluffy, since they contain an entire egg. It's almost like a cross between a muffin and a soufflé. Or maybe like a very fluffy baked oatmeal. I think of this as a good thing, since it means I am getting a whole egg's worth of protein, but I just wanted to give you a heads up, because it is different. It shouldn't be rubbery, however. If your muggin is coming out rubbery, you are probably cooking it too long. Try shaving 10 seconds or so off of your cooking time.

Variations:
Most mornings, I am lazy, and I honestly just make the basic muggin as described above, with nothing added other than a dash of vanilla or a spoonful of peanut butter (which is not easy to mix in completely, and has me seriously considering investing in some PB2 to see if I can get that peanut butter flavor without investing all of that stirring energy). But here are a few variations to try:

  • Apple cinnamon: Use applesauce instead of yogurt, and add a dash of cinnamon and lemon juice. Maybe a few pieces of chopped apple, or some walnuts.
  • Chocolate chip: Add a dash of vanilla and 2 Tbsp chocolate chips.
  • Chocolate: Use the full 1 Tbsp of honey and add 1 Tbsp of cocoa and a dash of vanilla. You could even go crazy and also stir in 2 Tbsp chocolate chips or M&Ms.
  • Lazy-flavored: Instead of adding flavor, just use flavored yogurt. Increase the yogurt to 3 Tbsp and omit the honey.
  • Pumpkin muffin. I haven't tried this one yet, but it's at the top of my list as soon as I remember to buy some pumpkin purée.
  • Meat/cheese: I just made my first savory muggin with leftover ham and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. So good! (You'll probably want to reduce the honey, and I had to cook mine for almost double the normal time, because I added way more than 2 Tbsp of ham and cheese.)
  • Any combination of nuts, frozen berries, dried fruit, candy, spices and/or flavor extracts that sounds good to you. Like cinnamon-raisin, or blueberry-almond, or pumpkin-spice-pecan. Just use a dash of flavors/spices, and 2 Tbsp (cumulative) of the mix-ins.
I punched the recipe into My Fitness Pal, and it's a nice, healthy breakfast option. When prepared using the basic recipe (oat bran version of the mix, nonfat yogurt and 1/2 Tbsp honey), it has 192 calories, 21g of carbs, 7g of fat, 11g of protein, and 2g of fiber. You can increase the protein even more by mixing in some nuts. One muggin for breakfast tides me over easily until lunch.

7 comments:

aeiouyandw said...

Have you tried mixing the peanut butter in with the wet ingredients as opposed to after you mix in the dry ingredients? I made one today with cookie butter, which is a similar consistency to peanut butter, and it mixed in pretty well. Haven't tried peanut butter yet, but I'm thinking it probably wouldn't be that different.

Jule Ann said...

Yeah, that's how I do it, but I still end up with clumps. Maybe because I'm using natural peanut butter?

Marianne said...

Maybe try warming the peanut butter in the microwave before mixing, so it would have a more runny consistency?

Jule Ann said...

I totally tried that, too, but it gets hard again as soon as the cold yogurt hits it, and you can't add the egg while it's hot, or it will cook before mixing. You could melt the peanut butter at the end, and add it on its own, but then you'd need to dirty an extra dish. All in all, the "warming it first" experiment ended up being way too much extra work. I'm just decided to call the PB pockets a "feature".

Jule Ann said...

So, if you use the banana version of the recipe, the peanut butter mixes in beautifully, because they are both room temperature. Not to mention how awesome peanut butter and banana are together...

Anonymous said...

What about wheat bran? Can that replace oat bran?

Anonymous said...

What about wheat bran? Can that replace oat bran?