You can see from the long ingredient list why these are called “loaded” muffins, but gosh, they’re delicious.
It’s crunch time over at Ethical Ocean and their Eat What’s Good vegan recipe contest. I’ve been hovering around fourth place, which is great considering my competition, but I wouldn’t mind a bump up. You can vote for my Mango Sticky Rice Cake recipe right here. Thank you!
Loaded Morning Muffins with Crumb Topping
Makes 12
Muffins:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almond meal
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. powdered stevia
1/4 cup maple sugar
2 tbsp. egg replacer + 6 tbsp. water (whisk and then let sit for a few minutes)
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup almond or other nut milk
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1 tbsp. maple sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
Preheat oven to 350F and lightly oil ~9 muffin cups.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully remove to a cooling rack.
Make the muffins:
Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly oil a muffin pan (~9 muffins). Fill any empty cups with water.
In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, almond meal, baking powder, spices, stevia, and maple sugar. Set aside. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg replacer mixture, pumpkin puree, nut milk, and coconut oil. Pour this into the dry mixture and stir to combine – and then add the carrots, apricots, walnuts, ginger and coconut.
Divide the batter between the muffin cups.
Make the topping:
Combine all of the ingredients and sprinkle evenly among the muffins. Bake muffins for 30-35 minutes or until firm. A toothpick will not come out clean on these babies.
In spite of my huge love for yeast bread – the labor involved, the simple ingredients that through kneading and time create complex, rich flavor, the satisfying crunch of a deep brown crust, the smell as it bakes – I adore quick breads, with the humble, homely biscuit being my favorite kind. I quite possibly could live on biscuits alone (as long as I have a cup of tea or hot chocolate with which to wash it down and perhaps a schmear of jam). I’ve been messing around with biscuits quite a lot lately, with my attention mostly on the savory kind, but a recent cookie post by emmycooks got me thinking about chocolate and dried apricots. Sounds like sweet scone material to me!
Many years back, I went for lunch one day to a small Indian restaurant in the basement of an old house on the quiet part of Pearl Street in Boulder, CO. Basements aren’t the most welcoming environments for dining and buffets have always given me the willies. To compound my sense of foreboding, I was the only diner that early afternoon. I didn’t have high hopes for the meal, but the waiter was attentive and I could hear energetic sizzling in the kitchen accompanied by warm, rich smells of complex spices. Somehow I’d timed my visit to coincide precisely with fresh food coming out of the kitchen directly to the buffet. I’d have the first crack. After I’d loaded my plate, the waiter came around with a cup of chai tea. I’d never had it before and had no idea what to expect. The white cup was filled to the top, the color a deep mocha, the smell intoxicating. I was hooked from my first sip. I’ve tried chai tea in many Indian restaurants and coffee shops since and have sampled the packaged kinds – but the small Indian place in Boulder made the best. (Luckily for me a close second can be had by brewing my own at home using a Tazo Organic Chai Tea bag and soy milk.)
Pa’s name for little Laura Ingalls, remember? Yep, these rolls are small, but…and here I could write something like, “but what they lack in size they make up for in flavor” or some such nonsense, but that would make me feel silly…so I’ll go with: they’re tasty. But, you ask, “If they’re so small, what good are they?” Well, they have several things going for them: one is that the dough doesn’t require kneading; and two, you mix up the ingredients and put the dough in the refrigerator overnight where it magically develops flavor while you are happily in dreamland; three, you can fill the rolls with whatever strikes your fancy, from an herby-garlicky deal to your standard cinnamon-sugar-raisin combo; and four, they’re as cute as – little Laura Ingalls with her pigtails.
Make the sweet filling:
Baking:
If there were an award for Best Aroma While Cooking in the breakfast food category, this is the waffle that would take home that prize. The ingredient list includes yeast which gives the waffles a beautiful, light rise and extremely crispy exterior. Tender + crunchy: your basic dream team waffle. Even better, you can whisk together the ingredients the night before. The batter takes on a slight sourdough essence and all you have to do the next morning is pour the batter onto the hot waffle iron and enjoy the aroma.
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (one packet)
My grocery store still has big piles of bags of cranberries and I always think: I should make something with fresh cranberries because they won’t be available forever. Last week I actually grabbed a bag with no idea what I would do with it, but determined to use them. And since simple and easy is good – a versatile sauce, one that could be used on toast, pancakes, waffles or even to give a savory seitan sandwich a kick – seemed like the best idea. The basis for this recipe comes from the utterly fantastic, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman. If you don’t have a copy, get one. It’s filled with tons of great recipes and ideas along with information about substitutions, spices, grains, soy products…a valuable resource for both the vegetarian and vegan cook.
There are some killjoys out there who would have you reserve things like chocolate waffles and chocolate chip pancakes for “special occasions.” Why? Because those decadent indulgences are usually loaded with refined flour, sugar, dairy and oil. It would take you the rest of the day to try and work off the fat and calories – so much for your special occasion. But if you make your indulgences vegan – if you stir in whole grains and if you pare away most of the added oil – then you can enjoy these delicious breakfast items without having to wait for a holiday. And you could almost even call them healthy. Here’s how you do it:
Cherry-Apricot Compote