Berry Rich Muffins

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 standard 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with cooking spray.

2. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

3. Whisk egg, egg white and brown sugar (or Splenda) in a medium bowl until smooth. Add buttermilk, oil, lemon (or orange) zest and vanilla; whisk until blended.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients; stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Gently stir in mixed berries and dried fruit. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle sugar over the tops.

5. Bake the muffins until the tops spring back when touched lightly, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges and turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Ingredient note: You can use buttermilk powder in place of fresh buttermilk. Or make "sour milk": mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.

Substituting with Splenda: In the EatingWell Test Kitchen, sucralose is the only alternative sweetener we test with when we feel the option is appropriate. For nonbaking recipes, we use Splenda Granular (boxed, not in a packet). For baking, we use Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, a mix of sugar and sucralose. It can be substituted in recipes (1/2 cup of the blend for each 1 cup of sugar) to reduce sugar calories by half while maintaining some of the baking properties of sugar. If you make a similar blend with half sugar and half Splenda Granular, substitute this homemade mixture cup for cup.

When choosing any low- or no-calorie sweetener, be sure to check the label to make sure it is suitable for your intended use.