Boysenberry whole wheat muffins ~

Cultus Lake muffins ~

Easing the guilt of sweets, whole wheat muffins. Boysenberry muffins. Pretty muffins. Tasty muffins.

I never cared for whole wheat muffins until I tried one at a lovely place in Redmond, One Street Down Cafe. Inside are gorgeous Venetian plaster walls that I could not stop touching, even though my friend told me to stop stroking the walls. I didn’t listen. It was such a warm place, that doesn’t come from decoration, but from the owner of a place. I’m kicking myself at the moment, because I’m horrible at remembering names, but I do remember how someone makes me feels. The owner is genuine friendly.

I don’t often order baked goods or buy them. When I’m in the mood and do not want to bake one thing, I order them as a treat. Sometimes it’s purely out of sheer curiosity to see the consistency of an item that has been baked by another. From a bakers point of view, the muffins were gorgeous at One Street Down. After I heard they were whole wheat, I just had to find out what they tasted like, what was the interior. I took a muffin back to my table and proceeded to take it apart, see the crumb, the softness. It’s a curious exam, never a judgment. It was a plain muffin, no add-ins. The taste was wonderful, the moistness was there in a whole grain product. I was enamored with the muffin as much as their walls. You see, whole wheat could ease some guilt of feeding muffins to my kidlets.

I complimented the owner, as deserved, for a light, moist, whole wheat muffin that wasn’t too sweet. She said she would share the recipe. !! Turns out, I have the very same cookbook. I’ve had it for over 20 years.

Now my muffins have never turned out as gorgeous as hers, I get a lip and height, but not a perfect dome as found in her restaurant. I add berries because they are the family favorite. I’ve done slight adjusting to the original recipe, as I add frozen berries to the mix, making them bake longer, berries also holding moisture.


Makes 9-12, depending on your add-ins and how you scoop.

1 stick butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ - 1 c. buttermilk - play with this
½ tsp. vanilla

1 c. chopped frozen boysenberries
Zest of one lemon

• Cream butter and sugar.

• Add egg.

• Add flour and buttermilk alternatively.

• Fold in any additions you might have.

Bake at 375 degrees, 25-35 minutes. This depends on what your additions are, if using frozen berries, it increases the bake time.

Toodles ~
xoxo