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)

Dairy Free Orange Creme Ice Cream & Pistachio Madeleines

Orange Creme Ice Cream & Pistachio Madeleines

I made a coconut milk, vanilla bean base for ice cream just like the Black Cherry Almond Ice Cream with the juice of four tangelos added instead of the cherry juice.  OMG I hit the orange cremesicle flavor.  I cleaned out the insides of four large tangelos and juiced them. I also stirred in the zest of one whole tangelo. After the ice cream base was made I stirred in the juice and let the mixture rest in the refrigerator. 

I used the tangelo shells for bowls and froze the ice cream in them.

I saw this recipe for Pistachio Madeleines on a blog I follow, Cook Almost Anything.

I made a couple changes by using xylitol instead of the white sugar in the recipe, used sucanat instead of brown sugar, and coconut butter instead of dairy butter.  These came out very nice. I think I might bring these to the next potluck in March. I used eggs this time, I have some good ones. I will try some egg substitutes to see what I can come up with for a vegan Madeleine sometime. I sprinkled them with some cinnamon sugar.

Da Kine No-Bake Chocolate Cookies ~ Vegan

This is an EZ no-bake recipe for Chocolate Cookies from The Vegan World Fuisine Cuisine cookbook, one of my most favorite vegan cookbooks.   They are full of chewy good things like chocolate, pecans, raisins, and coconut.

Da Kine No Bake Chocolate Cookies

2 C Chocolate or Carob chips, vegan
1/2 C Raisins
1/4 C Pecans or macadamia nuts, toasted
1/2 C Coconut flakes, toasted
1/4 C Almond or peanut butter
2 TB Maple Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla extract, alcohol free
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of Cardamom powder

Place chocolate chips in double boiler on medium high heat until chips are melted, stirring frequently.  Place in a large bowl.  Set aside 1/4 C of the toasted coconut to sprinkle on top of cookies.  Add remaining ingredients to the melted chocolate and mix well.  Shape cookies and place on a parchment paper lined or well oiled baking sheet.  Top with remaining 1/4 C coconut.  Refrigerate until cool.

Not much cooking involved here.