For those of you who have stumbled onto Uproot from Oregon and are still unsure why this seemed like a blog name to choose- let me explain.
Growing up in Portland, Oregon helped define my food philosophy. I can’t help but think of Oregon as my true ‘home’ in so many ways– from the bilingual elementary school that fostered my interest in travel, the seaside summer camp where I met Noah, the restaurants and coffee shops where I would reconnect with friends and those familiar funky neighborhoods.
This post is sponsored by the Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission. I was provided reimbursement for ingredients and my time.
My fondest memories of childhood frequently involve food (I’m sure many of you self-proclaimed foodies can agree!). Some of the foods that are inseparable from my Oregon memories are my mom’s dinners of salmon and broccoli, heading to Sauvie’s Island in the summer for U-Pick berries, piling granola on yogurt for snack after school, driving to get boba tea or New Seasons’ sandwiches during free periods in high school, stopping for thick slices of marionberry pie a la mode along the Oregon Coast.
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed meal
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup mashed banana (2 medium)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¾ cup frozen whole marion blackberries
- 12 frozen marion blackberries for garnish
- 5 tablespoons old fashioned oats
- 1 tablespoon honey for sticky steusel
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl for dry ingredients, mix together whole wheat flour, oats, flaxseed meal, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a larger bowl, combine Greek yogurt, mashed banana, eggs, vanilla, and coconut sugar.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix gently. Add the frozen whole blackberries to the batter and mix until just combined.
- Prepare a muffin tin with cooking spray or cupcake liners and portion the batter into 12, almost to the top of each muffin cavity.
- In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients with your fingers and sprinkle on top of the muffins (note: this will be very sticky and clumpy).
- Top each muffin with a whole blackberry.
- Bake the muffins for 20 minutes and let them cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
As I previously mentioned on my Whole Wheat Marionberry Thumbprint Cookies post, marionberries are a larger and sweeter blackberry developed in Oregon. They are known as the “Cabernet of Blackberries,” for their rich complex flavor. I look forward to getting a jar of marionberry jam every year over the holidays, but little did I know, the whole berries have been hiding in the freezer section at Natural Grocers! Cue Marisa’s foodie happy dance.
These Greek Yogurt Marion Blackberry Muffins with Honey Oat Streusel highlight the sweetness of the marionberry, getting structure from plain Greek yogurt, ground flaxseed, and mashed banana. Feel free to replicate this recipe with regular blackberries, but do note that I prefer frozen fruit in muffins (do not thaw them).
Share with me: Is there a food that brings you back to childhood like this?
Marisa
Ang @ Nutty for Life says
Ah these look so good! I’m a sucker for any type of muffin, but especially berry muffins. (I wish that didn’t sound so inappropriate). I don’t often buy blackberries, but I think I should start!
My fondest memories revolve around food, too. Probably one of my favorites was my pap’s Russain pancakes. So buttery and bad but so, so good.
Marisa says
Yes – cooked blackberries (even just microwaved into oatmeal) are my favorite! I’ll have to try some Russian pancakes 🙂
Cassie says
Such a hard question! Maybe biscuits?? Something I learned to love in WV – not really something that my PA/Italian family really ever ate.
I love Oregon. I love the West Coast and its bounty of produce. I’ve had too much coffee this morning, I’m waxing poetic.
Marisa says
Mmm, biscuits. Yay for West Coast love!!
Deanna Segrave-Daly says
Yum – these sound and look so delish. I hankering to get back to Oregon and really explore – I’ve been to Portland a few times (loved it) but want to have some time to travel (and eat) my way through the state at some point 🙂
Marisa says
Yes, Portland is a blast! I love going back there to visit my parents so I can explore all the new restaurants. It’s a great state to roadtrip in as well!
Alanna says
I could seriously go for one of these muffins right now! I’ve stopped in Portland for a few short couple of hours and must go back to really explore and get good eats! My sister went to the Univ. of Oregon and we would bring back marionberry jam – so good!
Marisa says
I’ll meet you there anytime, Alanna! Glad to hear you’ve sampled marionberries – they’re delicious.
Alexis @ Hummusapien says
That honey oat streusel is everything!! And those studs of berries…I die.
Marisa says
I loved it! Might even double it next time I make these!
Donna says
So glad to have landed on this particular post and your amazing blog that I am joyfully hanging out with this morning…I am another “uproot” from Oregon typing from the foot of the Jura mountains in France!
I found this treasure…marionberries simply LEAPING out from the text….and it will be brunch! I used to love to walk out my back door and pick these beauties…bowls of them…at will and for FREE! I have had the utter pleasure of that pie with same marvelous berry on the Oregon Coast! I miss my Oregon berries..and even worked summers in the Smucker’s Jam plant in Woodburn!….
Other…very Oregonian thing….buying OR gathering FILBERTS (aka Hazelnuts for the rest of the country/planet)…my favorite nut of all time.
Marisa says
Hi Donna – thank you so much for your comment! You can definitely substitute with other berries you can find in France at the moment. Now you have me craving hazelnuts as well. Thanks for following along!
Bethany says
I just got a fresh batch of Marionberries from my in-laws yard (fun fact, my grandmothers in-law was friends with Marion, so the vine in the backyard is one of the original 7 from the guy who invented them!!). This recipe looks DEVINE, but my daughter is allergic to bananas. What would you suggest as a substitution??
Marisa says
Hi Bethany – What an awesome story!! I am very jealous, and wish I had access to fresh marionberries! I haven’t tried substituting the mashed banana in this recipe, but you might try an equal amount of peeled and mashed pear, or yogurt with some sweetener mixed in. Let me know what you try. Enjoy!
Vannah says
Do you have the nutrition facts to this by chance?
Marisa says
Hi Vannah – I don’t, but there are many nutrition calculators on the Internet if you’d like to enter the ingredients and see for yourself.