Monday, January 14, 2013

Fig Muffins with Goat Cheese Filling

There was a time when I could eat the same thing for breakfast every morning, or every weekday morning anyway, for an entire year if not longer. I’d pour the same cold cereal into a bowl every Monday through Friday without any interest in mixing it up. Something happened to change my thinking on that lately. Now, I can only go for about a week with the same thing for breakfast each morning, and then I have to have something different. I never go all out and cook eggs or anything like that on a weekday morning, but I’ve been switching around my breakfast with homemade granola and yogurt, whole grain toast, bagels, and most recently these muffins. Whatever I’m choosing for breakfast, I like for it to include some whole grains and fruit, and these muffins fit that demand perfectly. They’re from Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck, and they’re made with white whole wheat flour, dried figs, and olive oil, with a goat cheese and lemon zest filling. If you’re not familiar with white whole wheat flour, it’s not a refined flour but is made from a white wheat rather than hard red wheat berries. It looks the same as all-purpose flour but has the nutritional profile of regular whole wheat flour. 

To start the muffins, the filling was made and set aside. Room temperature goat cheese was mixed with lemon zest, some honey, and vanilla extract. The muffin batter was made by sifting white whole wheat flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt. A well was made in the middle of the flour mixture. In a separate bowl, eggs were whisked, and brown sugar, vanilla extract, olive oil, and buttermilk were added. The wet ingredients were poured into the well in the flour mixture, and the batter was stirred together with a rubber spatula. Chopped dried figs were folded into the mix. The batter was spooned into a buttered muffin tin, and each cup was filled to about half. The goat cheese filling was then spooned into the center of each muffin cup, and the remaining batter covered the filling. Just before going into the oven, each muffin was sprinkled with turbinado sugar. 

This was a great way to start the day. The chewy, sweet figs were delicious with the tangy goat cheese filling. Just because I’m switching up my breakfast choices more frequently now, that doesn’t mean I can’t circle back to repeat one now and then. These muffins will undoubtedly make repeat appearances. 

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21 comments:

  1. Oh, how delicious! I love that filling.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Ha! I do eat the same thing every single morning or I have a hard time of it! These muffins though I'd have for lunch or a snack! Amazing with the goat cheese filling. I have to try these!

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  3. These look fantastic, Lisa! Thanks for show-casing them on your wonderful blog.
    Best,
    Maria

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  4. Lisa, just found this recipe and your blog on FoodBlogs.com. The words "fig" and "goat cheese" caught my eye 'cause I love both! I'll definitely be pinning this one and trying it out. Glad I found you.

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  5. What a unique delish brekkie choice :)

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  6. there's nothing wrong with the same bowl of cereal morning after morning after morning...right? :)
    VERY interesting muffins, lisa! possibly worth giving up the aforementioned bowl of cereal. :)

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  7. In cooking form Ancient Grains for Modern Meals I overlooked this tempting recipe! What a lovely way to start the day!

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  8. I love the filling Lisa, and figs are one of my favorites. I had a small obsession during the season to be honest :) Delicious recipe.

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  9. I didn't realise I wasn't following you on all your social media platforms - just corrected that! I'm a bit the same when it comes to breakfast - at the moment I'm stuck on blueberry and banana smoothies with almond milk. I wonder when I'll tire of it. I love the look of these muffins - so full of goodness and a great start to the day xx

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  10. I love figs with cheese. I usually just have them like that or topping a crostini. But in a muffin? Oh my! Genius idea.

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  11. Is that sweet, savory and a little tangy filling for muffins? I am all for it :)

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  12. i am in teh same boat as you. before, i could eat cereal everyday for breakfast without complaining but as i am getting older, i feel like changing things up every once in a while.

    these muffins are so cool and wayyyy better than the basic, boring breakfast muffins i usually eat. i like figs and the fact that these are filled with goat cheese have me wanting these for breakfast tomorrow morning...lol!

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  13. I have a very hard time eating breakfast and usually my first meal of the day is lunch, even though most days I wake up and exercise early in the morning.

    I've been trying to change that and force myself to eat more at breakfast, which is not that easy. These muffins seem perfect to start a nice day!

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  14. I love muffins. These are so creative. The flavor combo is really interesting and unique for muffins!

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  15. I love this. We always have dried figs in the house. And I have been eyeing that book for a while. Maybe I should just pull the trigger and go get it! :) Goat cheese filling is interesting.

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  16. What a brilliant idea! I adore goat cheese, and I've always been fond of cream cheese muffins. This sounds like the best of both worlds! Thank you for sharing with me. This post, along with my cup of hot chocolate, is making for a very lovely Thursday morning. Have a great weekend!

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  17. I bet the goat cheese and figs taste fabulous together! What a wonderful breakfast!

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