Vegan Apricot Muffins with Walnuts & Cashews

Someone shared a nice vegan muffin recipe on Facebook the other day I thought I'd try with the nice apricots I have canned.  I changed so much in the original recipe, it's now an entirely new recipe.  I didn't have self rising flour, but that's easily remedied with a little extra baking powder.  Amazingly, I am out of almonds, that rarely happens, so I used some raw cashews and walnuts, roasted slightly in a dry sautée pan on the stovetop.  I used safflower oil, hemp milk and apricot preserves I made with last year's fresh apricots.

That's how I make most things. I grab a recipe using the ingredients I have on-hand, fruit in season, etc., and use it as a guide.  These muffins came out so light and fluffy a friend of mine at work said they were 'Betty Crocker' fluffy.

The orginal recipe I used was Almond & Peach Muffins from a blog called "Parsley Soup"

My version of this recipe: 

Apricot Muffins with Walnuts & Cashews

2 cups Whole wheat pastry flour
1 TB plus 1 tsp Baking powder
3/4 cup Turbinado sugar
1/2 cup Ground cashews
4 oz Sunflower oil
1 cup non dairy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 pint apricot preserves (I used agave and agar to make my preserves last year)
Pan roasted chopped cashews and walnuts to decorate
Apricot preserves to glaze

1.  Sift flour, baking powder into large mixing bowl.

2.  Stir in the turbinado sugar and ground cashews.

3.  Whisk the vegetable oil, non dairy milk, and vanilla in a smaller bowl and pour into the flour mixture.

4. Quickly stir in the peach preserves reserving some for the glaze.  The total stirring should take less than 30 seonces and it's fine it it's really lumpy.  Muffin dough doesn't like to be mixed too much.

5.  Pour the mixture into muffin cups and sprinkle the roasted nuts on top.

6.  Bake at 400º for about 20 minutes or until risen and cooked through.  Give it the toothpick test.  If it comes out clean, they are done.

7.  Heat the apricot preserves slightly and spread on top of the hot muffins with a pastry brush.  I put a little of the apricot bits on top too.

Enjoy with a glass of non-dairy mile.  YUM!

These received great reviews with everyone who tried them.

Snow Day Begins with Warm Muffins

Frozen Rhoddies

Daffodils on a frozen February morning.

I get to stay home and let nature put on her show.  I am blessed. My husband usually rides his bicycle to work.  I don't need to drive in this slush. Gave the car to him today, I don't need it. I have lots to do on a day like this. What will I do?  Cook or course, read, maybe start some seedlings, but mainly stay warm and safe.  Hoping to get some practice in with this new camera of ours today.  The sky has been intermittently blue and gray.  I think I'll venture out in the yard during the next sun break. It may not be quite safe to drive, but a walk in the backyard is cold, but enjoyable.

Since I'm up enjoying the snow from the inside this morning.  Thought I'd send some warm muffins to work with my honey. These started out as oatmeal chocolate chip muffins but I found I had no oatmeal so I used a combination of quinoa flakes and some whole grain cereal. I used pumpkin seed oil instead of olive oil.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup non diary milk
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup chopped nuts,
1 cup chocolate chips (I used the nondairy mini choc chips)

Fruited Quinoa & Sugar Free Apricot Muffins

Cherry Vanilla Quinoa

We usually have a smoothie during the week for breakfast, but on the weekend I like to do something different.  I found a nice recipe for quinoa and apricots, cooked in non dairy milk with raisins and vanilla.  I used dried cranberries and the apricots I canned last summer.  The quinoa is kind of special because I grew it in the garden, homegrown quinoa.  We failed to take a picture of it, but I'll post the recipe because it's very easy and it came out very good.  It was raining pretty hard this morning and a warm breakfast was very welcome.

Fruited Breakfast Quinoa

Makes about 6 1/2-cup servings

Quinoa is a highly nutritious grain that was a staple in the diet of the ancient Incas. It has a delicious flavor and a light, fluffy texture.

1/2 cup dry quinoa, well-rinsed
1 1/2 cups vanilla rice milk
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
1 cup chopped fresh or canned apricots
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine quinoa and rice milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a slow simmer, then cover and cook for about 15 minutes until the quinoa is tender. Stir in cranberries, apricots, and vanilla, then transfer about 1 1/2 cups to a blender and purée. Return puréed mixture to the pan and stir to mix. Serve warm or chilled.

I opened two pints of apricots and drained them for the quinoa.  I was left with about a cup of apricots and quite a bit of good liquid from canning.  When I canned them, I only used  lemon juice and a little stevia. I made some sugar free muffins by substituting 1/2 teaspoon of liquid Stevia and about 1/2 cup of the apricot juice.

Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Apricot Muffins

Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Apricot Muffins

    * 2 cups whole wheat flour
    * 1/2 tsp Stevia and 1/2 cup apricot juice or water
    * 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    * 1/2 tsp baking soda
    * 1/4 tsp salt
    * 1 tsp ground ginger
    * 1 cup coconut milk
    * 3 tbsp sunflower oil
    * 1 TB ground flax seed and 3 TB water
    * 1 cup canned apricots

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a nonstick 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray, or line with paper cups.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ginger. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, oil and egg.

Make a well in the flour mixture and add wet ingredients. Stir until just moist.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup followed by a teaspoon of apricot preserves. Fill cups evenly with remaining batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden, then cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 regular or 24 small muffins.

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins with dried Currants

Pumpkin Muffins with dried currants

15 oz pumpkin purée
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup oil (I used grape seed oil this time)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mashed banana
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 TB plus 2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup dried currants

Preheat oven to 350º

In a large bowl, mix pumpkin purée, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, and banana. Mix thoroughly.  In a separate bowl, sift flours, baking powder, cinnamon, sea salt, and cloves.  Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined.  Fold in dried currants.

Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes.  I made mini-muffins so the cooking time was about 20 minutes

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins - Dairy Free

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

I picked some fresh blueberries with friends Friday afternoon and thought it was time for some simple wholesome muffins. These are made with whole grains and no dairy products.  They aren't considered vegan as they are made with honey.  To make these vegan, just use agave or stevia in place of the honey.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
31/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 cup non dairy milk
1/4 cup fresh local honey
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400°

Combine dry ingredients and make a well in the center to add wet ingredients.  Whisk together honey, non dairy milk, and the melted oil until combined.  Add to the center of the dry ingredients.  Stir just enough to moisten.  Fold the fresh blueberries into the batter.  Spoon batter into lightly oiled muffin cups.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Orange Chocolate Bean Cupcakes

These cupcakes were very easy and tasty. I used a whole orange instead of orange juice concentrate listed in the recipe. When I was blending the wet ingredients, I just wanted to drink the mixture as a smoothie.

I don't usually count calories, but some of the people I share my goodies with are concerned about that lately, so I estimated these. I calculated them at: 110 calories, 3.9 g fat, 2.6 g fiber, 2.7 g protein, and since they are 100% plant based, zero cholesterol. These can be eaten for dessert or as lunch since they are made from beans, rice, nuts, and fruit. I made little muffins using a one ounce scoop, so they are half the calories and make a handy, healthy, chocolate snack.

Orange Chocolate Bean Cupcakes
Wendy Gabbe Day

1 cup garbanzo bean flour

1 cup brown rice flour

3/4 cup Sucanat (or evaporated cane juice)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup flax seed meal - (grind flax seeds in a coffee grinder.)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup almonds (or other nuts)

2 apples

11/2 cup water

1/3 cup orange juice concentrate (I just used a whole orange)

2 TBL orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Lightly oil a 12-muffin tin.

3. Combine first eight dry ingredients in a bowl.

4. Blend almonds into a coarse flour - (I use a food processor, a blender will work)

5. Core the apples (leave skins on) and blend with the almonds, water, and orange juice until smooth.

6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, sprinkle in the freshly grated orange zest, and mix until just combined.

7. Bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (I used the little muffin tins, the cooking time was about 35 minutes.

I topped them with
Coconut Whipped Creme

14 oz can Unsweetened Coconut Milk (use top firm part only)

1/3 cup Powdered sugar

1/4 cup raw cashews (soaked 4 hours in filtered water), drained well (use this water in your smoothie, it has lots of protein and nutrients from the nuts)

1 tsp Vanilla bean (scrape inside)

1. Place can of coconut milk into refrigerator for 4 hours. Open and remove thick part on top to use in recipe. Reserve rest for other uses.

2. In a blender, blend cashews and coconut to smooth, add powdered sugar. Blend to thick and fluffy.

3. Transfer to small stainless steel bowl, add vanilla, stir.

4. Chill 1 hour minimum or overnight.

5. Use within 2 days.

It's a really rich tasting cream sauce that can be used for all kinds of goodies. This creme sauce can also be created in many different ways, sweet and savory. I have omitted the powdered sugar and vanilla bean and used chipotle chili peppers to use as a sauce for enchiladas, Chipotle creme sauce.

This will add about 22 calories to those muffins for those of you who count your calories.

More About Whole Grains

This week my focus has been exercising 30 minutes a day and adding more whole grains to our diet. I have been pretty successful at both this week. I made some nice treats that were whole grain,low in sugar and fat.

Nutritious Muffins

   Bob's Red Mill
I made some changes when I made these:
Instead of Oat Bran cereal, I just used rolled oats.
Brown sugar replaced with suganot, (Rapadura)
I used 1 cup Almond milk and 1 tsp lemon juice in place of the yogurt.
I would ordinarily use egg replacer instead of an egg, but I had one left from when we had some guests. Since I get my eggs fresh from a local farm, when I do buy eggs, they last a little longer than from the grocery store.
I omitted the Walnuts.

Even with the guidance of this nutritious recipe, I cut out some of the fat by replacing the yogurt and omitting the walnuts.

 Nutritious Muffins

American Whole Foods Cuisine, Nikki & David Godbeck
This is a great cookbook for transitioning to a more whole foods and vegetarian diet. Used so much, my copy of this cookbook is really messy, I've tried many of these recipes. When I found this book, I purchased so many for gifts, when my friend went online to buy one, they were gone and she had to buy another edition. I might have purchased all that were left in 2006 of this one. There is a rice nut loaf recipe that is a favorite around here. I have gotten compliments for my "meatloaf" from guests that didn't know it was a "non-meatloaf." It even makes a pretty good non-meatloaf sandwich.

I made the Summer Fruit Cobbler and it was pretty good. Made with cornmeal instead of the usual shortening, sugar, flour and milk mixture we traditionally use for cobbler. It has a different texture than traditional cobbler, but just as tasty and just as comforting. I served it with a small scoop, 1 oz., of mango sorbet.

Summer Fruit Cobbler

5 to 6 cups mixed preaches, nectarines, berries, and plums peeled if desired and cut in bite-size pieces. (You can use any fruit you like, I used peaches and blueberries we froze fresh last summer.)
3/4 cup honey (I used raw agave syrup)
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp butter (I use vegan margarine made with flax or canola oil)

Preheat oven to 375

Combine fruit with 1/4 cup honey or agave in a shallow 2-quart baking dish or a 9 x 13-inch pan.

Mix cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk and let sit a minute or so until batter is thick. Drop by spoonfuls evenly over fruit.

Heat together remaining 1/2 cup honey, lemon juice, and butter just until butter melts. Pour over batter and fruit.

Bake for 30 minutes unitl crust is firm. Cool and serve at room temperature. I ended up baking mine for about 40 minutes because I used a little deeper dish than a flat 9 x 13 baking dish

Serve warm with vegan whipped cream or dairy free ice cream.