Epicurean Vegan

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Guest Post: Banana Blueberry Muffins

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Today, I’m bringing you a recipe from Patricia Stoltey, a delightful friend, writer, and fellow critique group member . We’re both original members of the Raintree Writers, formed in 2003, which continues to meet every two weeks.  Pat has two published mystery novels, The Prairie Grass Murders and The Desert Hedge Murders, both excellent reads with fun and quirky characters. You can visit Pat at her blog and see why I call her “Bad Ass Pat.” In the meantime, check out her yummy vegan muffins that she kindly took the time to share with us.

I can’t leave a recipe alone, no matter how good it is.

The first time I made these Mountain Biker’s Banana Muffins from the Simply Colorado: Nutritious Recipes for Busy People cookbook by the Colorado Dietetic Association, I thought they were delicious. But I couldn’t help it. I tinkered with the recipe until I made it mine.

If you find a copy of the original, you’ll see I changed the balance of whole wheat flour to white, replaced the skim milk with soymilk, and ditched the raisins (which I don’t really like) for blueberries. Here’s how it goes:

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Pat’s Variation on Mountain Biker’s Banana (Blueberry) Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c. sugar (or slightly less)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. flour

1 c. whole wheat flour (I use high altitude flour in Colorado)

1/3 c. oil

1/4 c. soymilk

2 large very ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. blueberries (I use frozen berries to keep the batter from turning totally blue)

Cooking Spray

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375⁰. Measure sugar, baking soda, salt and flours into bowl. Add oil, soymilk, bananas and vanilla; mix just until flour is moistened. Gently fold in frozen blueberries. Fill standard size muffin cups coated with cooking spray to 2/3 full with batter. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Because of the frozen berries, it’s best to test the center of the muffins with a toothpick to make certain muffins are done all the way through. Immediately tilt the muffins in the cups or remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

Although I have to tell you, at my house muffins tend to disappear from the pan minutes after they’re removed from the oven. I was lucky to get this photo.

Looks delicious, Pat. 🙂  Thanks for sharing your recipe with us!

My First Guest Blogger! Vegan, Wheat-free, and Nearly Sugar-free Blueberry Muffins

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I’m very excited to introduce you to my first guest blogger, Kerrie Flanagan, director of The Northern Colorado Writers and freelance writer-extraordinaire. Kerrie has been a great sport when testing out some of my vegan creations. Some have been great, others not so much. She’ll even manage to smile when choking down one of the not-so-much ones. Thanks for being here, Kerrie!

Kerrie and I

I am thrilled to be the guest blogger today for my good friend and roof buddy (long, but fun story) April and take a break from working on my writers conference. When it comes to food, April and I agree on a few things; we both like to cook, we both want to provide healthy meals for our family and we both like to experiment in the kitchen. But when it comes to what we eat, we are on different sides of the fence. I am not a Vegan. I do eat meat (but I buy it from a local rancher and it is all free-range, grass-fed beef) and dairy. But I have the utmost respect for April and other Vegans. I love sampling her amazing food and trying some her recipes on my family.

So why am I here on the Epicurean Vegan? (besides the obvious, that I want to help my friend) it is because of my teenage daughter. Her acupuncturist wanted her to go on an elimination diet. So for 6 weeks, Delaney was to avoid wheat, dairy products and refined sugar. This was not an easy task, but we are on week 6 and she is doing great. One of the biggest things she missed was baked goods. The dairy part was no problem, the wheat; a little more of a challenge, but the sugar free part; nearly impossible. I am happy to say though, I found a recipe for muffins with oat flour and made a few adjustments (with April’s help) to substitute the dairy products. Delaney gave them a thumbs up.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup oat flour

1 cup rolled oats

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3 Tbs honey (or 1/2 cup sugar if you want them sweeter)

2 tsp lemon zest (or 1/2 tsp. lemon juice)

1 tsp egg replacer + 2 Tbl water (whisk together)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup Almond milk

1 cup blueberries (thawed frozen, or fresh)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine everything except the blueberries in a large mixing bowl and mix with a whisk. Don’t use a mixer, as it will chop up the rolled oats.

Cover the bowl and set it aside for 10 minutes to allow the batter to thicken. Once complete, fold in the blueberries with a spoon. Grease a muffin pan with baking spray or use paper baking cups and fill 2/3 full with batter.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 15-20 minutes until  golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.
*These were a little crumbly straight out of the oven. Once they cooled they were fine. You might want to try increasing egg replacer a little bit.

Cranberry Muffin-Bundt

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Cranberry Muffin-Bundt -- Epicurean VeganThe original recipe is called Low-Fat Vegan Coffee Cake but it really has more of a muffin-like texture, consistency and taste. “Coffeecake” just doesn’t seem to fit. It’s not to say it’s not delicious because it’s extremely tasty and moist. Plus…prep time was about 10 minutes and only required one medium sauce pan! How easy is that?! This would be great for dessert, brunch (Easter is coming up…) or just good ‘ol teatime.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup vegan margarine
2 cups applesauce
1 cup flour
1-1/2 cups wheat bran flakes or oat bran (I used the flakes and broke them up just a little bit)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 cup raisins (I used dried cranberries)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional-but I used walnuts)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9″ square baking pan. I obviously used a bundt pan–I think it makes a much prettier presentation. In a medium-large saucepan, combine the margarine and applesauce over medium heat and heat until margarine is melted. Remove from heat.

Cranberry Muffin-Bundt -- Epicurean VeganAdd the remaining ingredients, combine well and pour into prepared baking pan. I had to shake the pan to even out the batter. It should resemble oatmeal.

Cranberry Muffin-Bundt -- Epicurean VeganBake for 25-30 minutes, however, I ended up baking mine for 45 mins before an inserted knife came out clean. All ovens run differently, so just keep an eye on it. Leave in the pan and place on a rack to cool before removing from the pan.

Cranberry Muffin-Bundt -- Epicurean VeganTop with confectioners’ sugar, of desired. (I say yes–it’ll look pretty) Enjoy!

Enjoy!

User Reviews Write Review
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 4 out of 5
tasty, easy and moist!, March 15, 2009
Guest erineedwards
“I thought this cake was very simple to prepare and my family loved it, including our picky toddler!I reduced the sugar by half, only using 1/2 cup and found it was still very sweet. I also subbed oatmeal and oat flour for the recommended oats or wheat germ or whatever it called for, I don’t recall. I did add raisins and walnuts.I baked it as suggested but found in my 8 inch round glass dish I needed to cook it about 20 minutes longer than suggested!”
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

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Chive-Flecked Spud Muffins

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Chive-Flecked Spud Muffins -- Epicurean VeganHmmm..these dinner muffins from 1000 Vegan Recipes cookbook, are so good! They definitely taste best warm with some Earth Balance margarine on them. Easy to prepare, they make the perfect accompaniment to any meal.

INGREDIENTS:
1-3/4 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C leftover mashed potatoes (If you don’t have mashed potatoes on hand, cook a couple in the microwave and when they cool down, cut in half and scoop out of the skins into a bowl. Mash with soy milk and olive oil or margarine).
1/2 C soy milk
1/4 C canola or grapeseed oil (I just used olive oil)
2 Tbs plus 1 tsp minced fresh chives

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, soy milk, oil and chives, stirring until blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. (It resembled mashed potatoes, actually).

Chive-Flecked Spud Muffins -- Epicurean VeganSpoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for 22-25 mins until golden brown. Serve warm.

Recipe source: 1000 Vegan Recipes

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

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Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping -- Epicurean VeganI found this recipe online from Vegetarian Times and I love that there is no oil and no need for egg-replacer. These are by far, the Best. Blueberry. Muffins. Ever. I added the crumb topping because really, that’s like icing on the cake . . . only sweet topping on the muffin!

INGREDIENTS:
Muffins:
1/4 C Earth Balance margarine
1/2 C apple sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sugar
2 C flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C almond milk
2 C fresh blueberries
Crumb topping:
1/4 C sugar
1/8 C flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs Earth Balance butter

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Using an electric mixer, combine all the muffin ingredients, except the blueberries. Mix well. Fold in the blueberries.

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping -- Epicurean VeganEither use muffin cups, or spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Evenly fill each muffin cup (12). To make the crumb topping, combine all the crumb topping ingredients in a bowl and mix well using a fork.  Generously sprinkle the tops of each muffin with the crumb topping.
Bake for 30-33  minutes. Let cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan. Enjoy!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

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Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins -- Epicurean VeganIsn’t it pretty? They’re very yummy, too. The lemon flavor is subtle and not over powering–which is good, too, so if you want a bit more lemon flavor, add another tablespoon of lemon juice and more lemon zest. Also notice that the 1/4 C of butter (Earth or Smart Balance) needs to be melted and then cooled, so I recommend doing this step first so it has time to cool down. The recipe makes 10 small muffins, but I decided to make 6 large muffins. I haven’t tried this recipe as a bread loaf, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. The recipe does suggest that if you like fresh ginger, substitute the poppy seeds with 3 tablespoons of peeled, grated fresh ginger. Another variation would be to add about a cup of dried or fresh blueberries or strawberries.

Also, I thought it would be delicious to prepare a lemon or raspberry glaze to drizzle on top….1 cup icing sugar, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or raspberry flavoring), dash of dairy-free milk for drizzle consistency.

INGREDIENTS:
2 C flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C sugar
2 Tbs poppyseeds
2 large eggs (I used Ener-G egg replacer)
1 C rice or soy milk ( I used soy milk–I find it cooks better because it’s thicker)
1 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 C margarine, melted and cooled (Again, I used Earth Balance sticks)
2 Tbs chopped lemon zest (from 3-4 lemons, but I got that much from just 2)

DIRECTIONS:
Position the oven rack in the center and preheat to 400. Coat muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and poppyseeds. Mix together with a whisk until blended. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, soy milk, lemon juice, margarine and zest until well blended. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined, taking care not to overmix the batter. It should look lumpy.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling each cup 2/3 full. Any cups that are not filled with batter should be filled halfway with water to allow for even baking. Bake muffins until golden brown adn tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 mins. Let cool for about ten minutes, then transfer muffins to a wire rack and cool completely. Enjoy!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins -- Epicurean VeganRecipe source: Recipes for Dairy-Free Living

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