muffins

August 1, 2015

{Vegan} Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.

My roommate had just gotten home and walked into the kitchen as I was pulling these muffins out of the oven. We like to play a guessing game as to what the other person is baking when we get home, based on whatever we smell when we walk in.

“They’re pumpkin muffins,” I said.
“I… think you’re in the wrong season!” she replied.
“Yeah. I know it’s July… I don’t care. I love pumpkin!” I responded back to her.

I decided to leave the roomie a “wrong season muffin” on the counter so she would have a pre/post run snack at 5:00AM the following morning. (The woman is training for a marathon… the least I can do is spare her a muffin!) When I got to work that day, she IMed me via our work messenger and said, “I love wrong season muffins!”

My response to that was: “I’m glad to hear it! What makes this even better is that they’re vegan!”

pumpkinmuffincut — {I may or may not have used too many chocolate chips…}

I know what you’re thinking: Cool story, bruh! So what’s the moral of that story? The moral of the story is: wrong season muffins are awesome. It’s July, and the heat and humidity are pretty gross here in Missouri. But I don’t care. I have had a fierce pumpkin craving for awhile now. These vegan muffins had been enticing me for quite sometime. So I finally gave in, and man I’m glad I did. You’d never know these muffins are vegan. They’re the perfect muffin-y texture and the pumpkin flavor shines through just right. I imagine the cinnamon comes through nicely too, but I added too many chocolate chips, so the chocolate sorta overshadowed the cinnamon. [Although a coworker said that you can never have too many chocolate chips, and I’m inclined to agree.]

I love recipes like these because they can be enjoyed by vegans and non-vegans [aka me, a butter lover] alike. In summary: Wrong Season muffins are pretty legit. 🙂

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{Vegan} Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.
Yield: About 10-12 regular-sized muffins.

Ingredients:
– 1 flax egg [One flax egg = 1 TBSP. flax seed meal + 3 TBSP. of water. Stir and let sit for about five minutes before using. It’ll get gelatinous like egg whites; that’s the binding ingredient!]
– 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
– 1 cup almond milk + 1 TBSP. lemon juice [or white distilled vinegar, or just sub buttermilk if you’re not vegan]
– 1/2 cup brown sugar
– 2 TBSP. vegetable or canola oil [I think I used light olive oil in this case… Doesn’t really matter too much. Coconut oil would work as well.]
– 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
– 1 tsp. baking powder
– 1/2 tsp. baking soda
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 1 tsp. cinnamon
– 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
– 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
– 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips [I used mini semisweet chocolate chips. You can use nondairy chocolate chips for vegans.]

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 10-12 paper liners, and set aside.
2. If you haven’t already, prepare the flax egg by mixing the flax seed meal with three tablespoons of water in a large bowl. Allow it to rest for five minutes to become gelatinous.
3. Add the pumpkin puree, almond milk [with the lemon juice or vinegar, it’ll get curdled; it’s a great vegan buttermilk substitute!], brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract to the flax egg when it’s ready. Stir the ingredients together until just combined.
4. Next, add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
5. Carefully place both flours into a sifter, and sift them over the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined.
6. Add the chocolate chips, and stir again until it’s just incorporated. Be careful to not over-stir. {Note: If the batter is overly thick, feel free to add a splash of almond milk or orange juice. I had no issues with the thickness of the batter, though.}
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin until each liner is filled nearly all the way [about 7/8ths full]. Sprinkle several more chocolate chips on top for presentation, or if you really love extra chocolate [or both, if you’re me!].
8. Bake for about 22-28 minutes or until fluffy, slightly golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. {Note: I only had to bake for 22 minutes. Any longer than that would’ve been too much in my oven. Just keep an eye on them, but don’t open the oven door too much.}
9. Let the muffins rest in the pan for abut five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

+ Recipe via Minimalist Baker.

May 25, 2015

Vegan Blueberry Muffins.

I’m no writing expert, but even I sometimes hit a wall. I think they call that “writer’s block.” 😉 There are just times where – even if I enjoyed a recipe or felt inspired by it – I just don’t know what to say about it. That’s how I’m feeling today.

I got my less-than-great photos edited and uploaded. I wasn’t having a great photography day when I took pictures of these muffins a few weeks ago. Then I waited about a week to actually begin writing after the photos had been uploaded. {In fact, I’m a bit embarrassed to even post them. But I decided to just roll with it, because I think this muffin recipe is an interesting one.}

Actually, one of my favorite parts of baking and food blogging involves simply experimenting with various recipes. I even get sick of making certain things over and over again [I kind of hate routines, which makes adult life interesting]. It just gets super boring to me. I’m not vegan, as I think most of you are aware. However, I did decide to make these vegan muffins, just for kicks. I was seriously worried that they wouldn’t turn out, because the batter was slightly off. I may have done something wrong; who knows. I’m pretty sure I was in a daze when I made these muffins, because I forgot to even write down any notes based on my experience with making them.

I even fretted when I put them in the oven, unsure as to whether or not they’d turn out. But lo and behold, the baking gods smiled upon me, and they turned out great! You wouldn’t even necessarily know that they’re vegan. The texture of the muffins is actually quite nice – they’re your typical, soft muffin texture.

Plus, I think it goes without saying that blueberries and muffin batter were simply meant to be. If you’re feeling adventurous and vegan [or you are actually, you know, vegan], then try these muffins out. They might come in at a close second to my favorite [very non-vegan, butter y’all] blueberry muffin recipe [which I need to post soon!]. 😉

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Vegan Blueberry Muffins.
Yield: 10-12 regular sized muffins.

Ingredients:
– ¾ cup all-purpose flour
– ¾ cup white whole wheat flour {Note: You could also just use all AP flour for this.}
– ¼ cup light brown sugar
– ½ cup granulated sugar
– ½ tsp. salt
– 2 tsp. baking powder
– ⅓ cup vegetable oil
– 1 large banana, mashed [about ½ cup]
– ⅓ cup non-dairy milk [I used almond milk, and I actually needed more like 1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk. If the batter seems too dry or extremely thick, feel free to add a bit more liquid to thin it out to a better consistency.]
– 1 cup fresh blueberries [I used frozen; if you use frozen berries, do not thaw them prior to throwing them into the batter.]

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with 10-12 liners, and set aside.
2. Combine the flours, sugars, salt, and baking powder. Add in your milk of choice, bananas, and oil. Stir until just moistened. {Note: As aforementioned, I ended up needing WAY more liquid in my batter than the recipe called for… Just use your best judgment. Now, muffin batter is supposed to be a bit more thick and lumpy, but if something seems way off, add a bit more liquid.}
3. Gently fold in your blueberries, and fill the muffin cups about 3/4ths of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs).
4. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove muffins from pan to cool completely. Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days.

– Recipe from Bakerita.

April 27, 2015

Strawberry Banana Muffins.

So, I realize that I have talked about what I want/need in a muffin in the past. My ideal muffin has to be moist [sorry/not sorry]. It has to be flavorful. It has to be light enough and not overly dense. Well, although I am a huge fan of the vegan chocolate chip banana oat muffins, I have to say that these strawberry banana muffins are my absolute favorite.

The recipe for these muffins is actually for a loaf bread. So of course, you can make a quick bread if you want. For some unknown reason, I’ve always just preferred to make the batter into muffins. The first time I ever made these muffins was approximately two years ago, back when I was living at home. My brother ate one and immediately asked, “Do we have to share these with anyone else?” Yup, they’re that good.

muffinstin — {I just love this vintage eight-cup muffin tin!}

These mofos were also a huge hit at work when I finally made them again a few weeks ago. And they’re just so freakin’ moist; it’s insane. Again, I’m sorry/not sorry for the usage of the word “moist.” But damn. I do actually bake them long enough, and as you can tell, the tops of them turn a nice golden brown color. And yet they’re still incredibly moist, thanks to the banana, the Greek yogurt, and the diced strawberries studded throughout them.

muffinstray — {I found this yellow gingham tray on my whirlwind trip to Portland. It’s just the bees knees.}

My roommate says that it’s often difficult to discern whether or not I’m actually enjoying something, because I don’t tend to display many extreme emotions. It is true: I tend to not really have extreme [outward] reactions to most things. I’m a very introverted, in-my-own-head-way-too-much, mostly laid back person. Of course, I have emotions, but I’m just really bad at displaying excitement, plus I’m a naturally more chill person, I guess. And it’s sometimes also difficult to express crazy emotions via written communication. That being said, I just have to say that OMFG THESE MUFFINS ARE FREAKING AMAZING!!!!1 Make them as soon as possible. Make them into a loaf; IDGAF. Just make them. Strawberries + Nanners = True Love. They’re effing amazeballs. {I sincerely hope that outburst accurately conveyed my excitement.} 😉

muffinopen — {“Used to be up in them guts like erryday.” – Me, channeling Snoop Dogg every time I am taking close up photos of food.}

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Strawberry Banana Muffins.
Yield: About 24 regular-sized muffins, or you can bake one regular-sized loaf of bread.

Ingredients:
– 2¼ cup all-purpose flour
– 1½ tsp. baking soda
– ¾ tsp. salt
– 1½ cups granulated sugar
– ¾ cup canola or vegetable oil
– 3 large eggs
– ½ cup Greek yogurt
– 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
– 2 small bananas, mashed
– 1½ cups strawberries, diced

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two muffin tins with liners [or grease/line with parchment paper a regular-sized loaf pan], and set aside.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl: flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment [or you can use an electric hand mixer], beat the sugar, oil, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Add in your bananas, and beat until combined.
4. Gradually add the dry mixture into the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined. Fold in strawberries.
5. Pour the batter into your prepared muffin tin [filling cups about 2/3rds of the way full], or loaf pan.

NOTE 01. Loaf Pan: If baking a loaf, bake for one hour, rotating the pan halfway through. (If the top begins to brown too much, just cover the pan in foil so that it will continue baking without burning the top.)
NOTE 02. Muffins: If you’re going the muffin route, bake them for approximately 15-20 minutes. The time may vary, but just err on the side of less time, rather than risking them getting burnt. Start out for about 15 minutes, then check for doneness with a toothpick.

6. Allow to cool on a wire rack, then enjoy. These will keep in an airtight container for a few days; however, they do go moldy really fast due to the moisture content. So eat ’em up!

– Strawberry banana bread recipe from The Crepes of Wrath.

April 12, 2015

{Vegan} Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Muffins.

Three fun facts about me:

1. I have had bananas getting overly ripe and taunting me from the counter for quite awhile now.

2. Also, I was out of eggs for about a week.

3. In addition, I go through extremely lazy phases in which I don’t even want to drive ten minutes to get some eggs from Trader Joe’s. {Please tell me I’m not the only one?}

So what’s a girl to do in such a dire situation? Make vegan nanner muffins, that’s what!

Personally, I’m not vegan, but I do love experimenting with vegan baking from time to time. It’s especially convenient during times in which I am too lazy to go buy eggs/milk/real butter, as aforementioned. I’m a sucker for a good muffin, but I am also somewhat of a muffin snob. You won’t see me eating just any muffin. To me, muffins need to be flavorful, relatively light, and definitely moist. {Sorry for the usage of the word “moist,” but there’s really no other way to describe a good muffin…} Dry or dense muffins can get outta here.

These muffins are my ideal muffins: they’re moist, they’re packed with flavor, and they are not overly dense. They prove that vegan baking is, in fact, awesome. Vegan baked goods (well, vegan anything, really) often still get a bad name, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that they are vegan unless you already knew. They’re bursting with enough banana flavor, and the oats and chocolate chips add just a little extra somethin’ to them. I also added a bit of cinnamon, just because any type of banana bread-related baked good that I make has to have cinnamon. But you don’t have to add it if you’re not feeling it. You should make these muffins if ya know what’s good for ya. They are very tasty, even if you aren’t vegan. Perhaps best of all: they are quite healthy, aside from the brown sugar. But there’s not much sugar in them, and they still taste great!

muffinsstand — {I love how the muffins look on my jadeite cake stand!}

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Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Oat Muffins.
Yield: About 10-12 regular sized muffins, depending on how full you fill the cups.

Ingredients:
– 2 flax “eggs” {Note: To make a single flax “egg,” combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax meal with 2.5 tablespoons of water. Stir it around, then allow it to sit for about five minutes so it thickens up. Just double that to make two “eggs.” This is the binding ingredient in the muffins, as we’re not using real eggs.}
– 4 medium ripe bananas [don’t worry about measurements – it’s forgiving]
– heaping 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
– 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon {I had to add it; I can’t have banana bread/muffin anything without it!}
– 2 tsp. baking soda
– 1/2 tsp. salt
– 1/4 cup vegan butter [such as Earth Balance] or coconut oil, melted
– 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
– 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour {I used whole wheat pastry flour, but I’m guessing most people don’t exactly keep it lying around their pantries… So regular, unbleached all-purpose flour will work fine too!}
– 1/2 cup rolled oats
– 1/2 to 3/4 cups chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, and set aside.
2. Prepare flax eggs in a large mixing bowl; set aside for five minutes to thicken.
3. Add bananas and mash, but leave a bit of texture.
4. Next, add the brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and then whisk those ingredients for about one minute.
5. Stir in the vanilla and melted “butter,” and mix until combined.
6. Add the flour and oats, then stir with a spoon until it’s just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, if you’re using them.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin tins, and fill them about 3/4ths of the way full.
8. Bake for 17-22 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool for several minutes.
9. Remove from muffin tin, and serve warm. Once they’re completely cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. You may also freeze them for longterm storage.

– Recipe slightly adapted from Minimalist Baker’s Vegan Banana Crumb Muffins.

singlemuffin

August 24, 2014

Whole Wheat Raspberry Muffins.

Up until the other day, I had never experienced the wonders of Costco. I know that’s probably hard to believe, but hey, I’m a small town kid at heart, and as a single person, buying food in bulk is not really worth it. Now, I had been itching to go for awhile [I like grocery stores; I realize that’s probably weird but whatever], and one of my friends who happens to have a Costco membership just moved to St. Louis. And so… my Saturday afternoon fun consisted of a Costco trip. #adultlife*

During my Costco trip, I thought it might be worthwhile to stock up on some of my most commonly used baking supplies: a huge bag of flour; a massive bag of chocolate chips [I was nearly out of chocolate chips, and we all know that running out of chocolate chips is unacceptable]; a big bag of granulated sugar, and a nice sized bottle of pure vanilla extract.

Then I found these giant containers of raspberries: about three times the size of your average raspberry container, for the price of one small container. That’s a good deal for raspberries, which are usually outrageously expensive (but I buy them anyway because I freaking love raspberries).

Mmmm. Raspberries.

I got home with all of my goodies, excited to have finally been to Costco. But then I got to thinking: what am I going to do with all of these raspberries? I could easily eat them all in less than one day, but that seemed boring to me. Then it occurred to me that I had never baked with raspberries before in my entire history of baking (and it’s a long one!). I immediately decided that I needed to make raspberry muffins.

I found these whole wheat raspberry lemon muffins, and I adjusted the recipe a bit for my tastes/what I had on hand. The end result are healthy, whole wheat muffins that are bursting with raspberries, which happen to be even more awesome once baked. Since I can’t always handle that “earthy” taste that whole wheat flour sometimes has, I used a mix of white whole wheat flour with regular whole wheat flour. I am pleased with the end results, and I’m thinking you should try these the next time you find yourself with an abundance of raspberries! They contain maple syrup (and a bit of honey because I ran out of syrup) instead of granulated sugar, so in my mind, they’re suitable for breakfast. 😉 {But who am I kidding? I’ll eat granulated sugar for breakfast any day regardless.. haha.}

Excuse the bluish hue in this picture; I’m still working with a new lens and on my photography skillz in general.

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Whole Wheat Raspberry Muffins

Yield: I got about 10 regular sized muffins.

Ingredients:

– 1 cup white whole wheat flour

– 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

– 1 tsp. baking soda

– 1/2 tsp. salt

– zest of one lemon [about 1 to 1 1/4 tsp.]

– 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

– 1 egg

– 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (you can sub the exact amount with honey if you like)

– 1/2 cup milk

– 1 tsp. vanilla extract

– 1 cup fresh raspberries (you may also use frozen)

Make the Muffins!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners; set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or you can use a hand mixer), cream the butter for a few minutes until it’s light and fluffy.

4. With the mixer on low speed, carefully add in the egg, syrup, milk, and vanilla. Mix until combined.

5. Slowly pour in the flour mixture and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix until just combined.

6. Next, carefully fold in the raspberries with a spatula into the batter until they’re incorporated throughout.

7. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to fill each muffin cavity.

8. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of a muffin.

Recipe slightly adapted from 100 Days of Real Food.

I just love using the pink liners in contrast with the raspberries peeking through the muffins!

Welp. Now I’ve checked two items off my bucket list: 1) I’ve now been to Costco, and 2) I have finally baked using raspberries. Winning.

*Can’t believe I just used a hashtag in a blog post… Yikes.