If food is meant to bring people together, I can think of nothing better than muffins to do the trick. The sound of the cooking timer has never failed to propel me into the kitchen and has often led to negotiations in my family about who gets to “clean up” the remaining chocolaty batter from the bowl.

It’s the unique crunchiness of millet muffins, however, that makes them stand out to me. A gluten-free grain, millet has high protein content and contains many nutrients, such as magnesium, calcium and fiber.

Paired with a boiled egg and your choice of coffee or tea, these muffins make a great breakfast. You can also freeze them to enjoy a tasty treat at any time.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup millet
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 lightly beaten egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
Nutella, chocolate, dried cranberries or other additions, to taste

Directions: (for approx. 12 large muffins)
1. Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
2. Place muffin cups in muffin tin. Alternatively, cut parchment paper into pieces and use as a muffin cup replacement.
3. Mix whole wheat flour, millet flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
4. Mix buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil and honey in a second bowl.
5. Combine the mixtures from steps 3 and 4 until the batter is moist.
6. Spoon the batter into muffin cups/parchment paper. Add a tasty surprise inside of the muffin by filling muffin cups halfway with batter, inserting a dollop of Nutella, peanut butter or jam and adding more batter on top. Crazy for cranberries but not so into chocolate? Try mixing some dried cranberries into the batter in step 5 instead.
7. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 °F.

You can also make your own buttermilk for the recipe by mixing one cup of milk with one tablespoon of white vinegar and letting it sit for a couple minutes before use.

Be creative and consider adding a piece of chocolate, butterscotch or chocolate chips to the very top of the muffins before you bake them, like I did with Ferrero Rocher chocolate halves and dollops of Nutella.

Recipe adapted from: allrecipes.com/recipe/77360/millet-muffins.