Muffin Mix Fix

Muffins make the perfect little something to add to breakfasts or lunchboxes. They're compact, they're tasty, they're cute-even the name is cute: muffin.

Now while I know that there could probably be nothing easier to make from scratch than muffins-it's all in one bowl for goodness sakes, sometimes things catch your eye in the supermarket and you just have to give them a try. The something in question that recently caught my eye was a muffin mix called Fiber One Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix.

I've tried other Fiber One things, like their cereals and granola bars with mixed results. The cereals I will often snack on and while I really like the taste of the granola bars, I'm not exactly sure what's in there, but, about half an hour after eating them I have stomach cramps and gas. Now why you ask given those results would I try another of their products? Well...I don't know exactly, but I did and I can say that the muffins were delicious and gas/cramp free.

I felt compelled to fiddle with the mix a bit and I added a cream cheese walnut component-which I thought was just right; I like a little crunch in my muffins so the addition of walnuts seemed natural. Other possible add ins could be a streusel topping or a cream cheese frosting. I did burn mine a little bit, but that's just because I was on the phone when the timer went off and didn't hear it...oops.

Fiber One Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Cream Cheese and Walnuts

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 package Fiber One Apple Cinnamon Muffin mix prepared according to package directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a small food processor, combine the cream cheese, brown sugar and egg; process until smooth. Stir in the chopped walnuts.

Divide half the Fiber One batter between the muffin cups. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the batter in the cups, evenly dividing. Spoon the remaining batter over the cream cheese mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean.

Yield: 12 muffins

Blackberries and Crystallized Ginger

Crystallized ginger goes so well with just about every kind of berry. I just love the contrast of the ginger's sweet spiciness to the tart sweetness of the berries. We're experiencing a bit of an unseasonable chill here in New England and it has me craving the warmth of tea and muffins.

The blackberries look pretty good this time of year in the supermarket, so I brought some home to make some Ginger Spiced Blackberry Muffins.

Crystallized ginger can sometimes be difficult to find in the supermarket. I usually buy it in small tubs in the produce department, often where they have pre-packaged nuts. When you buy it in the jars in the spice section it can be expensive so be sure to look in the produce section first. I can usually get a 10 ounce container (that's a lot of ginger) for around $4.00-$5.00.

Ginger Spiced Blackberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup fat free milk
1 1/2 cup halved blackberries
1/2 cup thinly sliced crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the cake flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg, butter and milk; stir with wooden spoon, just until combined. Stir in the blackberries and the crystallized ginger.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and firm.

Yield: 12 muffins