Monday, March 11, 2019

Vegan and Gluten-free Blender Pumpkin Pie Muffins

I just got a wonderful email asking me for my advice about baking snacks for the preschool kids at my son's school. It is so gratifying to be called out for something you are so passionate about (thanks Emily!) I had planned to spend all morning paying bills and organizing but this opportunity to procrastinate by writing about baking was too good to pass up. And besides, I realized that, despite having been making these "muffins" regularly for the better part of the past year, I had yet to blog about it!

The advice I gave to Emily about baking for kids mostly revolved around sugar. Muffin recipes always have criminally high levels of sugar. The sugar industry does a terrifyingly good job at marketing to our children. Home-bakers are up against a tough foe when trying to compete with the sweetness of say, a PopTart, or Lucky Charms. (<<gag>>) So if you have a really picky eater, I can understand going with the given levels of sugar in a recipe but consider substituting (measure-for-measure) a sugar with a lower Glycemic Index. Coconut sugar (GI 35), maple syrup (GI 54), honey (GI 51) and agave (GI 15) are all better than regular sugar (GI 65) and much better than the dextrose sugar (GI 100) that is found in PopTarts. (A quick note that I would avoid using artificial sweeteners as there is evidence that they can increase your appetite, make you crave sweet foods more, and ultimately cause weight gain.)

Being a flour-less AND vegan muffin means these muffins are on the sweeter side. But if you can find anyone who has successfully baked a sweet treat made primarily of beans without using a significant amount of sugar, I'll eat my apron. And besides, with a picky eater who hardly ever eats protein, if I can get him to inhale half a can of beans then I'll take it. These muffins are so easy to whip up, and so easy to eat. Make a double batch if taking to a potluck or if you want to share with neighbors. They only make about 10 little muffins, and they'll be gone sooner than you can say "I bet you can't guess what they're made of!"

Lastly shout out and thank you to my longtime friend, Dr Kate, for sharing this recipe with me. Wish we could share these with a pot of tea.

My little helper, this past fall



By the time I went to take a picture they were all eaten except one! These bake well in pretty muffin/brownie molds like this.





The batter may not be pretty but they sure are tasty! As you can see, the food processor works better.


Blender Pumpkin Pie Muffins

very slightly adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

The recipe calls for honey but we prefer the version made with maple syrup. Use whichever you have to hand. Also, I have used red beans instead of white beans and they still tasted great! Lastly, having made them both ways, I'd recommend using a food processor instead of a blender unless you have an excellent blender.

1 15-oz can of white beans, drained and rinsed well
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup quick rolled oats
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder

If using a blender, blend the beans and pumpkin puree until thoroughly blended then blend in each ingredient long and well (the time will vary greatly depending on the quality of your blender.) If using a food processor, then dump everything into the food processor and process until very well blended, about three minutes, stopping halfway through to use a rubber spatula to scrap down the sides of the bowl. Spoon batter by 1/4 cupfuls into 12 greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 mins in a preheated 350 oven. The muffins will look underdone but they will firm up as they cool. Enjoy!