With blueberry muffins always being a hit around here, I was determined to make fresh milled flour blueberry muffins right off the bat. Granted, I didn’t open up my grain mill and make good muffins right away, but after a few attempts, once Bill said “keep this recipe!,” I knew I had created a keeper.

Why use fresh milled flour?

Instead of feeding your family “regular” homemade muffins for breakfast or as a snack, why not offer them superfood blueberry muffins, just by changing what flour you’re using? Using fresh milled flour turns normal muffins into a multi-vitamin, offering your body so many nutrients.

Regular all-purpose flour from the store? It’s so old and processed that it’s essentially just nutrient-less starch to your body. Fresh milled flour? A complex, nutrient-packed flour that folks swear doesn’t spike their blood sugar. Even though fresh milled flour blueberry muffins are still, well, muffins, they’re something you can feel amazing about feeding your family.

Learn about my top 5 benefits to milling fresh flour.

Can you make muffins with fresh flour?

Absolutely.

I’d argue that fresh flour makes the best muffins!

While this recipe is super straightforward, there are a few things to keep in mind. Fresh milled flour behaves differently than store bought flour does, given the fact that it’s a whole grain flour. It’s packed full of antioxidants, protein, and minerals, but the bran and germ that make it nutritious can also make muffins dense, gummy, or not rise.

This recipe uses soft white wheat to keep it simple and straight forward (if you own a grain mill, you most likely have soft white wheat berries in your pantry), but these days I always grab an ancient or heritage grain, for even more antioxidants in my flour. Feel free to swap the soft white wheat for einkorn, Khorasan (kamut), spelt, or barley (or a mixture).

How to make fresh milled, gluten-free blueberry muffins

If you’re looking to make gluten-free muffins with fresh milled flour, try using oat groats, milled into fine flour (don’t mill rolled oats!). For better texture, add 2-3 teaspoons of a starch to the muffin batter. Some starches could include:

Arrowroot powder

Cornstarch (or a chickpea alternative)

Tapioca starch

Fluffy fresh milled muffins: tips & tricks

I’ve picked up some tips for making better muffins throughout the years. Some are fresh flour specific, and some can be applied to any recipe, made with any flour.

• Fill your muffin tins/liners enough. You want them to be about 2/3-3/4 full to achieve tall, bakery-style muffins. 
• Don’t skip the dairy. Using sour cream, Greek yogurt, or thick buttermilk will help your muffins stay soft, non-crumbly, and retain their moisture/softness for longer.
• Don’t lessen the sugar too much. Turns out, sugar not only makes muffins taste amazing, but also helps them retain moisture, be tender but not crumbly, rise higher, and brown nicely without burning. If you reduce the sugar too much, you’ll have dry, crumbly muffins that go stale very quickly.

• If you’re struggling with your muffins being gummy in the center, try letting your batter sit for 10-15 minutes before baking. You’ll find that this recipe doesn’t specifically call for letting the batter sit–because I simply don’t find it necessary and I’m usually eager for a fresh-from-the-oven muffin ASAP. But try adding this step if your muffins don’t come out as well as you’d like.
• Don’t overmix your batter. Just make sure there aren’t any huge lumps or pockets of flour at the bottom of your bowl, and you’re good to go. Mixing your batter too much will make muffins tough, as you’re actually developing gluten, which we want in bread dough but want to avoid in muffin batter.
• Don’t overbake your muffins. As soon as the centers are set, remove them from the oven and let them cool. If you want to use an instant read thermometer, cooked muffins temp at 190-200 in the center.

The best blueberry muffins are made with fresh milled flour

If you’re looking to upgrade your classic blueberry muffins, look no farther than making them with fresh milled flour.

Not only does whole grain flour simply taste better, it also offers a depth of flavor that isn’t easy to explain. If you’ve ever used whole wheat flour from the store, ditch that thought in your mind. Plastic-y, stale, playdough-y is what comes to my mind. Fresh milled flour is a whole different story. Rich, nutty, buttery, wheat-y tasting–yes–but in the best, warm way.

The soft sweetness of muffins pairs so well with the rich flavor of fresh milled flour. Trust me, once you try them you can’t go back. Especially cut in half, grilled in a hot cast iron skillet with butter? Forget about it.

How to prevent dense whole wheat muffins

When we think of words like “whole wheat,” “whole grain,” or “stone-ground,” we often think “dense, heavy, crumbly.” But that doesn’t have to be the case. With this recipe, and a few thoughts to help you adapt any muffin recipe you should ever want to make, you’re well on your way to whole wheat muffins that break all the serotypes. 

1. Use the right ingredients. Adding ingredients like Greek yogurt/sour cream, buttermilk, liquid oil, eggs, all combine into a magical creation: soft, moist whole wheat muffins that makes everyone ask for the recipe.
2. Use the right flour. Make sure to stick with soft grains, or ancient grains (with lower gluten potential) for the best muffins. Using hard grains (like hard white wheat) will result in more gluten forming in the muffin batter, leading to tough muffins. No thanks.
3. Bake at the right temperature. If your oven runs cold, consider upping the temperature by a few degrees. You really want a nice, pre-heated oven, hot and ready to go when your muffins go in. If the oven is still preheating, or the temperature is running low, your muffins won’t rise quite as high.
4. Add toppings. The texture of coarse sugar or a nice streusel not only adds a bakery-style touch, but also helps improve the texture of the muffin overall.

What wheat berries make the best muffins?

Almost any wheat berry can be used to make muffins. However, softer grains (soft white wheat), and ancient grains (einkorn, spelt, khorasan) will make better muffins than harder grains (hard white, hard red, durum).

Best wheat berries to make muffins:

Soft white wheat

Einkorn

Khorasan/Kamut

Spelt

Barley

Wheat berries to NOT use in muffins:

(These grains can be used, but for best results, mix 50/50 or even 25/75 with a grain listed above.)

Hard white/hard red

Durum

Rye

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The best fresh milled flour blueberry muffins

Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups soft white flour
• ¾ cups coconut sugar*
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup greek yogurt or sour cream
• ½ cup liquid oil
• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon either vanilla or lemon extract
• 1 ¾ cups blueberries either fresh or frozen
• Coarse sugar for sprinkling, optional

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350.
• In a large bowl, mix all the muffin ingredients together, except the blueberries. After the batter is mixed well, gently fold the blueberries in.
• Ladle batter into greased muffin tins, filling each well about ¾ full.
• Sprinkle the tops with sugar, if desired.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, until they’re golden, a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, or a thermometer reads roughly 200 degrees.

Notes

*If you don't have coconut sugar on hand, substitute traditional cane sugar.

What you’ll need to make blueberry muffins:

More like the best fresh milled flour blueberry muffins:

• How to make rolled oats with an oat flaker (and why you should!)
• Whole wheat pumpkin muffins
• The best sandwich bread with fresh milled flour
• Wheat berries: everything you need to know

Shop all my favorite grains and wheat berries here, and shop grain mills here.

Follow along on my fresh milled flour adventures on Instagram (@souly.rested) and Facebook.

The post The best fresh milled flour blueberry muffins first appeared on Souly Rested.

And I love using a deeply delicious all-natural sugar in these bars to  give the lemon flavor a perfect tartness.

Lemon Bars With Fresh Flour

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ cups (350 g) einkorn flour, divided

1 cup butter, cubed

2 ½ cups sugar, divided (I use this sugar; see notes)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

6 eggs

1 cup lemon juice

Confectioner’s sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 and line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper.
2. Add butter, ½ cup of the sugar, vanilla extract, and salt to mixing bowl and combine. Remove 6 TB of flour and set aside. Add the rest of the flour to your mixing bowl and mix again.
3. Press the dough into your prepared pan. No need for it to be “pretty” (the dough will be thick and hard to spread out), but try to get it spread out evenly.
4. Bake until the edges are brown, about 20 minutes.
5. While the crust is baking, mix your filling ingredients: Mix the remaining 2 cups of sugar and 6 TB of flour. Whisk in eggs and lemon juice.
6. After removing crust from the oven, pour the lemon filling over the crust and place your pan back in the oven for another 20 minutes, or until the center is set.
7. Let cool to room temperature before serving (I know, it’s hard. I like most desserts nice and warm, but this one has to sit and cool). I like to dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

Notes about baking Lemon Bars with fresh einkorn flour

• Because I use coconut sugar for all the sugar in this recipe, it doesn’t turn out as “pretty” as if I used lighter-colored cane sugar. If I did, you would notice a color difference in the crust and the filling and the filling would be a much brighter yellow color. But I love the flavor of the earthier coconut sugar in this recipe. (By the way, coconut sugar is made from nectar from the coconut tree blooms… it’s delicious and tastes nothing like coconut.) It really gives the lemon a perfect tartness.
• Don’t be tempted to scrimp on the sugar in this recipe. The sugar works in tandem with the eggs to make the filling set well. If you scrimp on your sugar, your filling will be watery. (But using coconut sugar reduces the sweetness and makes your bars slightly more tart tasting.)
• Feel free to use store-bought lemon juice for this recipe, but if you can get your hands on fresh lemons, the flavor is amazing… you’ll definitely be glad you did. My lemon tree was in full production mode this month, so these lemon bars were made with just-picked fresh-squeezed lemon juice on the coldest day in January in New England. Needless to say, they were extra delicious.

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Lemon Bars with Fresh Flour

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups 250 g einkorn flour, divided
• 1 cup butter cubed
• 2 ½ cups sugar divided
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup lemon juice about 4 lemons
• Confectioner’s sugar for dusting optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
• Add butter, ½ cup of the sugar, vanilla extract, and salt to mixing bowl and combine. Remove 6 TB of flour and set aside. Add the rest of the flour to your mixing bowl and mix again.
• Press the dough into your prepared pan. No need for it to be “pretty” (the dough will be thick and hard to spread out), but try to get it spread out evenly.
• Bake until the edges are brown, about 20 minutes.
• While the crust is baking, mix your filling ingredients: Mix the remaining 2 cups of sugar and 6 TB of flour. Whisk in eggs and lemon juice.
• After removing crust from the oven, pour the lemon filling over the crust and place your pan back in the oven for another 20 minutes, or until the center is set.
• Let cool to room temperature before serving (I know, it’s hard. I like most desserts nice and warm, but this one has to sit and cool). I like to dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

Notes

• Because I use coconut sugar for all the sugar in this recipe, it doesn’t turn out as “pretty” as if I used lighter-colored cane sugar. If I did, you would notice a color difference in the crust and the filling and the filling would be a much brighter yellow color. But I love the flavor of the earthier coconut sugar in this recipe. It really gives the lemon a perfect tartness.
• Don’t be tempted to scrimp on the sugar in this recipe. The sugar works in tandem with the eggs to make the filling set well. If you scrimp on your sugar, your filling will be watery. (But using coconut sugar reduces the sweetness and makes your bars slightly more tart tasting.)
• Feel free to use store-bought lemon juice for this recipe, but if you can get your hands on fresh lemons, the flavor is amazing… you’ll definitely be glad you did.

Ingredients I use to make Lemon Bars

More fresh flour recipes and resources you’ll love

Fluffy dinner rolls made with fresh flour

Copycat Crumbl Strawberry Pretzel cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies made with fresh kamut flour

Grab lots of tips for baking with fresh milled flour & more recipes here

The post The Best Lemon Bars Made with Fresh Flour first appeared on Souly Rested.

Whole wheat pumpkin muffins

The brown sugar filing hovers perfectly in the center of these soft, just-sweet-enough pumpkin muffins. Then they’re all topped off with a crunchy-yet-soft streusel topping. Then the icing on the cake (literally!!) is the sweet maple glaze drizzled over the top.

If you don’t mill your own flour yet, no worries! (Although, I gotta ask… what’s stopping you?) This recipe will work well with regular ol’ all-purpose flour as well.

Can whole wheat pumpkin muffins be healthy?

Even though these are definitely a treat, with the addition of whole wheat flour, these pumpkin streusel muffins are packed full of vitamins, minerals, and they’re also higher in protein and fiber than if they were made with white flour.

Fresh milled flour actually contains all three parts of the wheat berry, including the bran and germ, which are powerhouse foods! Learn more about fresh milled flour here: Why I started milling my own flour.

Bonus: these muffins are made with coconut sugar, a complex, all-natural sugar, which will leave you feeling more full and without the energy crash of junky refined sugars. Learn more about sugars here: The best sugars to use.

Are muffins healthy or unhealthy?

Because these muffins are made with all-natural sugars, freshly milled flour, and zero preservatives, they’re actually a healthy snack.

But I can’t say the same thing about the muffins you order at your favorite coffee shop, or the ones you pick up in the grocery story bakery. Those have to stay moist and fresh for days (heck, sometimes weeks), so they’re loaded with all these preservatives I can’t pronounce, from mono and diglycerides, to sodium stearoyl lactylate, sorbitan monostearate, polysorbate 60, gelatinized wheat starch, and carnauba wax.

I don’t think you have to have a degree in food science to know which option is going to be a much better choice.

Bonus: these homemade muffins genuinely taste better.

How to make whole wheat pumpkin muffins with a brown sugar filling

Cocoa powder is my secret weapon for making your muffin filling more visible (and we all know your tastebuds start with your eyes!). You don’t taste the chocolate flavor since there’s not much cocoa powder in the filling, but it’s just enough to allow the bright color of the filling to shine throughout the muffin. Swirling the filling through the batter just allows the filling to stay put and not remain a dry lump of sugar, but instead transform into a gooey, lovely filling while the muffins bake.

Whole wheat pumpkin muffins recipe

INGREDIENTS

Streusel topping:

• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 3/4 cup flour*
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons melted butter, lard, or coconut oil

Brown sugar filling:

• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cacao powder (for color)
• 1 teaspoon sorghum syrup (or molasses)

Pumpkin muffin batter:

• 1/3 cup avocado oil, or other neutral-flavored oil
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• generous pinch salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups flour*

Maple glaze:

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• powdered sugar, to desired consistency

DIRECTIONS

1. First, mix the streusel topping. Combine the dry ingredients, then pour in the melted butter and stir until a moist crumble forms. Set in the fridge to cool.
2. Next mix the brown sugar filling. Combine everything in a small bowl, incorporating the molasses as best you can–some chunks are ok. Set aside.
3. For the pumpkin muffin batter, combine everything but the flour into a large mixing bowl, and mix until combined. Add the flour and stir until just combined.
4. Assemble the muffins by filling each hole of a muffin tray 1/2 full of batter (I find half a muffin is about 1 tablespoon). This recipe should make exactly 12 muffins, so fill 12 holes 1/2 way. Then sprinkle the brown sugar filling mixture evenly over all 12 muffins. Cover that with the remaining muffin batter so each muffin is filled. Carefully swirl a toothpick through each muffin to settle the filling into the batter, but don’t overmix.
5. Generously sprinkle the streusel topping over all the muffins.
6. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature in the middle of the muffins reads about 200 degrees.
7. Set them aside to cool slightly, and mix the maple syrup and powdered sugar until it’s thick but drizzle-able.
8. When the muffins are mostly cool, drizzle the maple glaze all over the tops and enjoy!

*I like to use fresh milled Spelt flour for the streusel topping and Soft White Wheat flour for the pumpkin muffin batter.

The four grain mills I use and recommend

If you’re considering investing in a grain mill, find out the questions you need to ask in the Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Grain Mill.

More like whole wheat pumpkin muffins:

• Wheat berries: everything you need to know
• Kamut chocolate chip cookies
• Fluffy 100% whole wheat dinner rolls
• Lasagna noodles with fresh milled flour
• Why I started milling my own flour

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So when my kids started talking about how Crumbl cookies were all the rage, naturally I was curious. The funny thing is, whenever I indulge in a Crumbl cookie, all I’m thinking about is how I can make them better, cheaper, and more nutritious at home.

A cookie, nutritious? Yep. With the combination of fresh milled flour, protein-packed beef gelatin, and locally-grown strawberries, these cookies can become somewhat of a superfood. Don’t mill your own flour yet? Don’t worry, these cookies will turn out great with regular all-purpose flour too.

And as a bonus these cookies have the additional benefit of nostalgia–I can’t be the only one who used to eat a hefty serving of Strawberry Pretzel Pie (or casserole) at every family gathering, can I?

How unhealthy are Crumbl cookies?

I read recently that there are more calories in a Crumbl than a Big Mac. And it’s made with seed oils artificial colors and flavors and a boatload of refined sugar… The plain chocolate chip Crumbl offers you more than a day’s worth of sugar–28 grams to be exact–and it’s refined sugar at that.

What are the negatives of Crumbl cookies?

While Crumbl cookies are made with refined flour and sugar, which offers you zero nutrients, extra starch, and a higher blood sugar level the minute you take a bite, you can make a homemade copycat Crumbl with nutrient-dense fresh flour and a complex sugar (one of my favorites is coconut sugar–find it here).

See my Complete Guide to Sugars for more great sweetener options.

Can I make Crumbl Strawberry Pretzel Pie Cookies at home?

You bettcha. And I promise, they’ll taste just as good (dare I say better?) than the “real” crumbl. Plus, this way you can customize the ingredients to suit your family’s needs, not to mention save lots of cash!

What is Strawberry Pretzel Pie?

Strawberry pretzel salad is a delicious dessert that takes jello salad to a new level. It offers a buttery, salty pretzel crust covered with a cream cheese and whipped cream filling, and topped with a strawberry Jell-O spread and chopped pretzels sprinkled on top for the big finish.

I don’t know about your family, but ours used to gather at a long table, picnic-style, with strawberry pretzel pie front and center, treated like a side dish, served with the meal. Personally, I always knew it was a dessert item rather than a side dish, but no one seemed to mind an excuse to enjoy dessert with our meal.

These strawberry pretzel pie cookies combine the best of these layers into a decadent cookie your family might become slightly addicted to.

Crumbl Strawberry Pretzel Pie Cookie Recipe

When Crumbl came out with this cookie I knew I had to try it. One bite in and I knew I had to make a nutritious version. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. If your family loves this recipe as much as mine does, please come back and leave a quick 5-star review so the Google gods share this deliciousness worldwide.

The world would be a “berry much” better place, yes?

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Crumbl Strawberry Pretzel Pie Cookies

Makes 8-10 large (crumbl-sized) cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/4 cup butter melted
• 1/2 cup sugar (I love coconut sugar for baking)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/3 cups spelt flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup crushed pretzels + 3 tablespoons melted butter, mixed together

For the Strawberry Toping:

• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons plain beef gelatin* or unflavored gelatin

For the Whipped Cream Cheese Icing:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2.5 ounces cream cheese roughly 1/3 of an 8 oz package, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a stand mixer beat both butters, sugar and vanilla for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture gets slightly fluffy. Add the egg and mix until combined.
• Add the flour, cream of tartar, salt, and baking powder and mix until a soft yet firm dough forms.
• While the dough mixes, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and stir the crushed pretzels into the butter. Add to the dough and combine.
• Forming a large dough ball (I usually make 9 total), flatten each ball until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Carefully smoosh the sides of the cookie until a ridge forms, leaving room for the fillings later. See images above for what this should look like. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet (you can use parchment paper if you have it) and bake for 7 1/2 minutes until they're just barely cooked through (they might look slightly undercooked when you first pull them out).
• While the cookies are baking, grab a sauce pan and add the strawberries, water, and sugar. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries start to soften. Using a banana masher or just a wooden spoon, smash the strawberries. Turn the heat up to medium/high and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Stir the powder in carefully, trying to avoid lumps. continue to boil the strawberry mixture until the gelatin is dissolved fully. When it's ready to remove from the heat your finger should leave a clean mark on the back of your spoon when you make a line with your finger. Set aside to let cool slightly.
• While the strawberries and cookies are cooling, make the cream cheese icing. First, in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Remove from the bowl and set aside. Next, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar together until creamy. Add the whipped cream back in and briefly beat the two together until combined.
• Assemble the cookies: spread a layer of the whipped cream frosting on the bottom, then spread the strawberry filling on top. Sprinkle additional crushed pretzels on top, if desired.
• Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

Notes for Making Copycat Crumbl Strawberry Pretzel Pie Cookies

I use unflavored beef gelatin like this one. Read more about the benefits of “real” beef gelatin here.

Don’t mill your own flour? Regular all-purpose flour will work.

Not sure what sugar you want to use? Go here for a break down of all the best options.

Use Redmond Real Salt in this recipe and add more than 64 trace minerals! Use code SOULYRESTED to save & stock up on some of this amazing salt today. I buy it in the bulk size because it stores so easily and keeps forever.

Have duck eggs? They’d add a delicious richness to this recipe. Read more about duck eggs here.

Wondering what grain mill would be right for you?

There are many options for grain mills & it’s an important choice that people can wind up sitting on for years. Years of debate and wondering that could have been filled with better daily nutrition around their family table.

After years of using and comparing many varieties of mills I put together a Complete Guide to Choosing a Mill to help you make your decision.

In the end, these are the 3 I recommend: The Classic Nutrimill does a great job, at the lowest price point. The Harvest Mill wins for most beautiful to sit on your counter. And the Mockmill is a beautiful workhorse that wins for best engineered, best at milling alternative grains, and finest flour, but it also sits at the highest price point.

More about some of the alternative flours I make in the Mockmill here.

More in-depth info about all these mills (and others) in my Complete Guide to Choosing a Mill. 

My favorite ingredients for these Crumbl Copycat Cookies

Talk to me about your Crumbl Strawberry Pretzel Pie Cookies!

If you have any questions, leave a comment below. If you make and love these, leave a five star review! And please tag me on ig to show me your Crumbl Strawberry Pretzel Pie Cookies! @souly.rested

More recipes like Crumbl Strawberry Pretzel Pie Cookies:

• The Secret to Delicious Strawberry Pie
• Kamut Chocolate Chip Cookies
• The Best cut-out Cookies Ever
• Cookies Made with Bacon
• Want to mill your own flour? Learn Why I Started Milling my own Flour

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The post The Best Copycat Crumbl Strawberry Pretzel Pie Cookie Recipe first appeared on Souly Rested.