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Glazed Maple–Whole Wheat Muffins
This recipe is free until September 20, 2023. 12 WEEKS FOR $1 TO ACCESS EVERY MILK STREET RECIPE. Learn More.
These two-grain, maple-sweetened breakfast treats were inspired by muffins baked by Friend of Milk Street Briana Holt at Tandem Bakery + Coffee in Portland, Maine. The smoky, caramel notes of pure maple syrup accentuate the nuttiness of whole-wheat flour, and a modest amount of cornmeal in the batter adds pleasing texture. Be sure to use fine cornmeal, not coarse stoneground, so the granules hydrate and soften properly. And for richest maple flavor, use the darkest syrup you can find. These muffins like to stick to the pan, so be sure to generously coat both the cups and the flat surface of the muffin pan and dust the cups with flour, even if your pan is nonstick. An easier alternative is to use baking spray such as Baker’s Joy or Pam for baking; these formulations include flour for simple one-step pan prep.
12
Muffins
Tip
Don’t use Greek yogurt, as its moisture content is too low to properly hydrate the cornmeal and whole-wheat flour. Don’t make the glaze in advance—mix the ingredients just before you’re ready to glaze the muffins so it won’t begin to dry and harden. Finally, don’t glaze the muffins until they’re fully cooled to room temperature or their warmth will make it difficult for the glaze to cling.
1½ hours
Plus cooling and drying
32 grams (¼ cup) all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
251 grams (1¾ cups) whole-wheat flour
72 grams (½ cup) fine yellow cornmeal
2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks
342 grams (1½ cups) plain whole-milk yogurt
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
107 grams (½ cup) white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, melted and cooled
248 grams (2 cups) powdered sugar
½ cup maple syrup, room temperature
4 tablespoons (½ stick) salted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon table salt
For the muffins:
-
32
grams (¼ cup) all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
-
251
grams (1¾ cups) whole-wheat flour
-
72
grams (½ cup) fine yellow cornmeal
-
2
large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks
-
342
grams (1½ cups) plain whole-milk yogurt
-
¼
cup maple syrup
-
1
tablespoon vanilla extract
-
1
tablespoon grated lemon zest
-
107
grams (½ cup) white sugar
-
1
tablespoon ground cinnamon
-
1
tablespoon baking powder
-
½
teaspoon baking soda
-
1
teaspoon table salt
-
8
tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, melted and cooled
For the glaze:
-
248
grams (2 cups) powdered sugar
-
½
cup maple syrup, room temperature
-
4
tablespoons (½ stick) salted butter, melted and cooled
-
1
tablespoon lemon juice
-
⅛
teaspoon table salt
Directions
-
01To make the muffins, heat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the middle position. Generously mist a standard 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray, dust with all-purpose flour and tap out the excess. In a small bowl, whisk together the whole-wheat flour and cornmeal. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and yolks. Add the yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla and lemon zest; whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the whole wheat flour–cornmeal mixture (reserve the bowl), then stir with a silicone spatula until evenly moistened; let stand for 15 minutes to hydrate.
-
02Meanwhile, in the now-empty small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, white sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. After the whole-wheat flour mixture has hydrated for 15 minutes, add the sugar mixture and stir with the spatula until just incorporated, then add the melted butter and fold until homogenous. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
-
03Scoop the batter (it will have become lighter and fluffier) into the cups of the prepared muffin pan, dividing it evenly; the cups will be full. Bake until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted at the centers comes out with a few crumbs attached, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan (if needed, rap it against the counter to loosen the muffins), setting them right side up directly on the rack. Cool completely.
-
04To make the glaze, in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, melted butter, lemon juice and salt. Set the wire rack with the muffins in a rimmed baking sheet. One at a time, hold the base of a muffin and dip the top into the glaze to fully and evenly coat. Turn the muffin upright while allowing excess glaze to drip back into the bowl, then set right side up on the rack. Let the glaze dry for about 30 minutes before serving.
Reviews
June 7, 2022
My go-to muffins
I make these without the glaze and use them as a delicious breakfast muffin. The flavors meld wonderfully, without any one taking over, and the corn meal gives texture without turning into a crunch. These are my favorite breakfast muffins and I make them regularly!
I made this last night. It is different than the video posted on youtube. These are delicious! I did not have whole wheat flour so used All purpose and I had Chobani non-fat plain yogurt (it says not to use Greek yogurt but that is all I had in my fridge). It turned out great. The best muffins I have ever had. My kid who is a very picky eater said that these are the best muffins. The glaze was not not runny but it was ok, I just used the knife to spread the glaze over muffins. Thanks for the recipe.
When I watched the show Briana Holt used citric acid, this recipe does not list it as an ingredient, why? How much and when should it be included?
Hi Edward -
We are so fortunate to have so many amazing chefs and bakers that agree to come on our tv show, be interviewed for our podcast, or contribute recipes and ideas to our magazine. In this case, Brianna Holt from Tandem Bakery in Portland, Maine presented her Maple-Glazed Whole Wheat Muffins on the show. Her version is done in her bakery and the original recipe, with 16 ingredients, was designed for her bakery's needs and scaled to bakery production. Therefore, our Milk Street team needed to scale the recipe down for a home cook and cut the ingredient list since, generally speaking, our readers and viewers prefer shorter ingredient lists and less overall prep work.
In the video, Brianna is making the glaze in her bakery using her recipe, which is designed for a larger yield of muffins. We chose to use lemon zest instead of citric acid because it allowed us to use one ingredient - lemons - in two different ways, juiced and zested, rather than calling for both lemon juice and citric acid.
I hope that helps clear up our decision-making in adapting Brianna's amazing muffin recipe into a more home cook-friendly version.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
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In the glaze ingredients list it reads 1/2 maple syrup. Is that a half teaspoon, half tablespoon, half cup...?🤔