Honey Muffins with Pepitas

Ron Nebrerecipes, Scones & Muffins


Sweet and lovely, these Honey Muffins are sure to delight your whole family. We even topped them with pepitas, for that signature crunch. When you’re cooking with Mirage, you want your family to have the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids as part of all their favourite recipes. So, bake a batch today and reap the benefits!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 to 27 minutes
Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

For the Pepita-Crumb Topping
  • 156 g / 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour/li>
  • 67 g / 1/3 cup sugar/li>
  • 2 g / 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon/li>
  • 1 g / 1/8 tsp salt/li>
  • 49 g / 1/3 cup pepitas, lightly toasted/li>
  • 43 g / 3 tbsp Mirage margarine, melted/li>
  • 35 ml / 7 tsp honey, preferably amber-coloured
For the Honey Muffins
  • 250 g / 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 10 g / 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 g / 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 g / 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3 g / 1/2 tsp salt
  • 120 ml / 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 109 g / 1/2 cup golden yellow/light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 76 g / 1/3 cup Mirage margarine, melted and slightly cooled
  • 110 ml / 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp honey, preferably amber-coloured
  • 1 large egg
  • 6 g /1 tbsp lemon zest, finely grated
  • 15 ml / 1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • 10 ml / 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

Pepita-Crumb Topping

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Generously spray a 12 cup muffin tin with baking spray, including the space between each well. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and the lightly-toasted pepitas, until ingredients are evenly distributed.


3. While the Mirage margarine is still slightly warm, stir in the honey until well-combined. Pour over the dry mixture. With a fork or using your fingers, combine until all dry ingredients are moistened by the Mirage margarine mixture and starts clumping. Set aside.

Honey Muffins

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt until thoroughly mixed. Make a well in the dry ingredients.

2. In a medium bowl, or a measuring cup, combine buttermilk, golden yellow sugar, melted Mirage Margarine, honey, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract until well-combined.

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the well. With a rubber spatula, fold the mixture together, using as few strokes as possible, until just-combined.


4. With a small ice cream scoop, fill each greased muffin well about 3/4 full. Evenly sprinkle the tops of the muffins with about a heaping tablespoon (30 grams) of the pepitas crumble topping. Lightly pat the topping slightly into the batter.


5. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350ºF (175ºC). Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

6. Take out of the oven and allow to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before removing from pan and placing onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Chef’s Notes

  • Pepitas are shelled pumpkin seeds, find them in any major supermarket or bulk foodstore.
  • Darker coloured honeys tend to have more flavour than lighter ones. Use the darkest honey available.
  • If buttermilk is unavailable, a good substitute is to stir 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) of white vinegar or lemon juice into 1 cup (240 millilitres) of milk. Allow to sit and thicken; 5 to 10 minutes. Proceed with the recipe, as usual, using the necessary amount of buttermilk required.