Pumpkin Muffins

In the spring, I started the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor program and decided to make these pumpkin muffins for breakfast out of the Big Breakfast Book. My only complaint is that they stick to the wrap a bit.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup applesauce
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix dry ingredients. 
3. Add remaining ingredients, mix until just combined.
4. Baked in lined muffin cups for 18-25 minutes.

Notes:

• Makes 12 muffins.
• Per muffin: 102 calories, 0.3g fat, 23.1g carbs, 2.6g fiber, 10g sugar, 1.8g protein

Apple Crisp Muffins

These apple crisp muffins are so good! I had a couple, one child had a couple, and someone else had at least half dozen. I got them from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor, which is a whole foods plant-based no oil meal plan. It's not a diet. All the same, I was told, "These don't taste like diet muffins." And I was asked to make them again. 

Ingredients:

1½ cups flour (white whole-wheat or GF) 

½ cup dry rolled oats, uncooked 

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp baking soda 

2 tsp ground cinnamon 

¼ tsp ground ginger 

dash of ground nutmeg 

¼ tsp salt 

½ cup raw sugar 

¼ cup brown sugar 

1 cup applesauce 

¼ cup pure maple syrup 

1 red apple, diced

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Mix dry ingredients together. 
3. Add remaining ingredients, mix until just combined. 
4. Spoon into lined muffin cups. 
5. Sprinkle with additional oats and brown sugar, if desired. 
6. Bake for 18-25 mins.

Notes:

Makes 12 muffins.

Per muffin: 124 calories, 0.4g fat, 28.8g carbs, 2.4g fiber, 15.4g sugars, 1.8g protein

Surprise Muffins! (vegan)

These are the surprise muffins from four years ago - only now vegan! Super yummy, everyone in the house ate them.


Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. Earth Balance or Nucoa
¾ cup (vegan) sugar
2 flax eggs - 1 Tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 Tbsp water each, mixed and set aside
½ cup almond milk
2.5 cups strawberries or blueberries, fresh or frozen (defrosted)
Food coloring, optional
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
strawberry or blueberry jam or vegan kisses/hugs/chocolate


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Mix in the flax eggs, one at a time, and add the milk.
2. Rinse the berries and cut off the green stem. Mash the berries with a potato masher or puree in a blender. Then stir the berries into the butter and milk mixture. TIP: For muffins with a more pink color, add a few drops of red liquid food coloring.
3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir well. Add the flour mixture to the berry mixture. Use a wooden spoon to stir until all the white disappears.
4. Line the muffin tin with paper liners. Drop the batter from a tablespoon to fill the cups halfway.
5. Add a surprise: an small amount of chocolate or ½ teaspoon of jam. Then spoon more batter to fill almost to the top.
6. Bake until the muffins begin to brown and a toothpick inserted near the center (but not in the Kiss) comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
7. Remove the muffins from the tin and cool. 

Other Details:

• Makes 12 muffins. 
• These were originally supposed to be Valentine's Surprise Muffins. You can make these more Halloween-friendly by using a different berry (perhaps blueberries) and/or using food coloring to your preference. 

Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel Topping

These are fantastic pumpkin muffins! The streusel topping is very good, the muffins are dense and yummy. I ate 2 straight out of the oven and several more throughout the day. The kids really enjoyed them as well. I adapted the recipe from May I Have That Recipe.


Ingredients:

Muffins:
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk 
2 tbsp flax meal
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 tbsp maple syrup
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup sugar in the raw
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Streusel Topping:
1 tbsp coconut oil at room temperature
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with foil liners and spray them lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine almond milk and flax meal. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Add almond milk/flax mixture and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt and walnuts. Slowly add to pumpkin mixture, whisking gently until just incorporated. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl, combine streusel ingredients, mixing gently with your fingers or a fork.
6. Spoon batter evenly in muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with streusel mixture. Bake at 350ºF until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Other Details:

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 20-25 minutes
• Yields 12 muffins
• Original Recipe

Contest Photos

I entered a food photography contest where I made six recipes and photographed them. I did not win on any of them, and despite an announcement three weeks ago about the new photos being revealed, I can't find the winning photos where they are supposed to be.

Part of entering the contest required we not reproduce the recipes in any way. Two of the recipes I did really like and have made the unpublished Codex. The other four were not quite up to par for the Codex. And one of those four I already had a recipe that I liked better.

Obviously, with the contest, I worked harder at setting up the photos and striving for a story. What I've decided is that I need a higher calibre camera and I am going to be more careful with the food photos on my blog. Hopefully you'll find higher quality photos from now on out.

Without further ado, here are the photos.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Coconut Red Lentil Dal

Lentil Mushroom Barley Stew

Mexican Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon Frosting

No Bake Apple Crumble

Tofu Scramble

Bread: Cilantropist's Mini Pumpkin Muffins

These looked so good and I love pumpkin (if you couldn't tell already)! These are perfect bite size bits and so moist! Even the family member who claimed to be tired of all the pumpkin I've made this fall (and I haven't even put all of it on the blog) kept eating them. 

Ingredients:

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil 
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp ground ginger (optional)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
About 1 tbsp turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)
About 1/2 tsp extra cinnamon for sprinkling on top (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease the cups of a mini muffin tin very well.  
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, all spices, baking soda and salt.  Then whisk in the flour until the batter is just smooth.  
3. Divide the batter among the greased muffin cups, filling each one just a bit more than 3/4 full.  Sprinkle the top of each mini muffin with a bit of turbinado sugar and bake in a preheated oven for about 10-14 minutes, or until they are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Watch them and check them often, because they go from still wet in the inside to fully baked in just a matter of minutes.  Mine were the most moist at about 12 minutes. 
4. Cool the mini muffins on a rack until cool enough to handle, and then remove them to cool fully.  Eat immediately or store muffins in an airtight container and keep refrigerated if storing longer

Other Details:

• Original Recipe 
• Mine took closer to 15 minutes 
• Made about 32 
• 75 Calories each
• Pin It

Bread: Surprise Muffins!

I had a recipe card with these on them. They were meant for Valentine's Day season, but I think that, depending on your surprise and the berries you choose, these are a great Halloween season item as well. Everyone in my house liked these - the kids loved the surprise, although the husband was not as big a fan.

Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. butter
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup milk
14 strawberries, fresh or frozen (defrosted)
Food coloring, optional
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
Hershey’s Kisses, Hugs or strawberry jam


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. You can use a wooden spoon, a potato masher or handheld electric mixer. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, and add the milk.
2. Rinse the strawberries and cut off the green stem. Mash the berries with a potato masher or puree in a blender. Then stir the berries into the butter and milk mixture. TIP: For muffins with a more pink color, add a few drops of red liquid food coloring.
3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir well. Add the flour mixture to the berry mixture. Use a wooden spoon to stir until all the white disappears.
4. Line the muffin tin with paper liners. Drop the batter from a tablespoon to fill the cups halfway.
5. Add a surprise: an unwrapped Kiss, Hug or ½ teaspoon of jam. Then spoon more batter to fill almost to the top.
6. Bake until the muffins begin to brown and a toothpick inserted near the center (but not in the Kiss) comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
7. Remove the muffins from the tin and cool. 

Other Details:

• Makes 12 muffins. 
• You can make these more Halloween-friendly by using a different berry (perhaps blueberries) and/or using food coloring to your preference.
• Pin It