Mulberry Muffins

I finally got the chance to go to the Lexington Farmer's Market this past Saturday. Boy was I surprised to see all the changes they've made!! There was a brand new pavilion to house the market, complete with overhead fans and all. As I drove up on the farmer's market I did a double take. With the addition of the pavilion, the market almost doubled in size and there were all kinds of new vendors. We're talking big time, big city market here folks. Good stuff! When I go back, I am definitely going to take my camera and get some pictures.

Many of the new vendors were food stalls, selling some really good eats. There was a smoothie stand powered by bicycles, a creperie, wood fired pizzas, homemade ice cream, and a breakfast stand with fresh breakfast omelettes and and all other sorts of tasty treats. All of the food vendors were using the fresh and abundant produce from the market. As usual, I was too indecisive to decide upon what to eat and decided to do my shopping first.

One of the first things I bought were these freshly picked mulberries. I had never seen mulberries before and really didn't know what they were until I asked. They look a lot like a very long blackberry and they are very sweet. My mom and I really enjoyed our samples, so I bought 2 pints @ $3.50 each. My three-year old son, aka The Popsicle King, is also The Berry King. That kid will eat an entire pint of berries like no one's business. I figured I would stock up on them since they might not be back the following week. I thought "The Berry King" would finish them off in no time, but it turns out that he didn't really care for them. I thought about making them into popsicles, but they stain very badly. Instead, I decided to turn them into muffins.

Mulberry Muffins
Adapted from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
Makes 12
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup fat-free milk (I usually use 2%)
1 large egg
4 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted (4 tsp. butter is equal to 1tbsp + 1tsp)
3/4 cup mulberries
Preheat the oven to 400F, spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray (do not try to use cupcake/muffins liners. The batter sticks to the liners).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Toss the berries lightly in the flour mixture to coat. In a small bowl, combine the milk, egg, and butter. Pour the liquid mixture over the flour mixture, folding until just blended being careful not to break up the berries. (Do not overmix).

Spoon the batter into the cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean and the muffins are golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes; remove from the pan and serve hot.

Notes/Results: I thought I would be smart and use cupcake/muffin liners. It wasn't the end of the world, but the batter stuck to the liners pretty badly. It didn't make a huge difference to me, but I wouldn't like it if I wanted to serve these to guests, etc. Therefore, I do recommend using the nonstick cooking spray. The mulberries themselves were very sweet, but the muffins were not overly sweet. I really enjoyed these muffins with a drizzling of honey for breakfast.

Per serving (1 muffin): 96 calories, 2g fat, 1g fiber, 3g protein, 17g carbs
WW points:2

Have you ever had mulberries? Do you have a favorite recipe for them?