Maple Almond Muffins

Muffins:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1 egg, beaten

Filling:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup finely chopped or ground almonds

6 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together the flours, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, oil, maple syrup, almond extract, and egg.

For the filling, stir together the maple syrup, almonds, 6 tablespoons pastry flour, cinnamon, and melted butter.

Combine dry flour mixture and wet egg mixture and stir just until moist. Put into oiled muffin tins, making 3 layers:

1 tablespoon muffin batter

1 tablesppon almond mixture

1 tablespoon muffin batter (spread obver almond mixture to cover it well)

Bake 20 minutes.

These muffins are Dad's favorites. Since these muffins have a filling, they take a little longer than most muffins but they are worth the extra effort. =) A really good idea is to make a few muffins first to see how they turn out so you know whether to add more muffin batter or almond mixture.