Banana Muffins

Great recipe for a moist, spongy banana muffins. The steps are fairly straightforward just like any muffin recipes. Mix your dry ingredients together. Mix your wet. Fold them together. Stir in nuts. The key is to mix JUST until it comes together. I made some adjustments to this highly rated/reviewed recipe, and the results were delicious. Follow me and sub with white whole wheat flour, coconut sugar, and applesauce to make them extra nutritious!

I also intentionally kept 1 banana less mashed than the rest to add some chunks and texture. Absolutely thrilled and pleased that none of my substitutions compromised the fluffy texture and taste. And while I was at it, I threw in some mini chocolate chips for good measure.

Banana Muffins
recipe adapted from All Recipes
makes 12 muffins

1 1/2 cup (192g) AP flour*see notes
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt*
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup (100g) sugar*
1 egg
1/3 cup (76g) butter, melted*
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1oz mini chocolate chips

Notes: 128g AP flour + 64g white whole wheat flour; 1/4 tsp salt; 65g coconut sugar; 50g butter + 25g applesauce

1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl.
4. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth.
5. Scoop into muffin pans.
6. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes.

Best enjoyed fresh and warm, but these actually kept very well and maintained their light fluffy texture overnight.

 

Taste: 5 stars out of 5

Lightly sweetened. Great banana flavor.

Texture: 5 stars out of 5

Light and fluffy. Moist with banana chunks and chocolate chips surprises. 

Chewy Pumpkin Pecan Granola Bar [bake]

My first PUMPKIN bake (&first bake granola bars) - Chewy Pumpkin Pecan Granola Bar.

It's true that taste preferences change as you age. Some of the ingredients I used to hate not like so much are the ones I frequently eat nowadays. I used to not like eggplants, and now my mom's stir fried eggplants has become one of my favorite dishes. I don't like bananas, but I have grown an appreciation for the natural sweetness and nutritional qualities it brings to my baked goods. Another one is dates. They are the perfect binder for my no bake granola bars and a much healthier alternative to refined sugar.

In this recipe, I am playing with some more new ingredients to expand my pantry.

puffed millet
pumpkin puree
applesauce
ground flax seeds

Pumpkin, applesauce, along with honey are the main binder for this granola bar.

Chewy Pumpkin Pecan Granola Bar

recipe adapted from two peas & their pods

makes 12-15 granola bars

2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup puffed millet
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
70g (a little less than 1/4 cup) honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 tbsp chia seeds 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8" baking pan and set aside.
>>optional: toast oats/nuts/seeds and cool before combining
2. In a large bowl, whisk oats, spices, salt, nuts, and seeds together. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Pour wet mixture over dry and stir well, until all of the oats are moist. Stir in puffed millet.
5. Evenly press oat mixture into prepared pan.
6. Bake for 45-40 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
8. Using a sharp knife, cut into bars. Remove from pan and let cool completely.
>>bars were crumbly and soft. After cutting into bars, return back to oven at 350F for 15 mins.

Lowering the brown sugar from the original 3/4 cup to 1/4 cup resulted in only 9g of sugar per bar (or 11g per bar for 12 bars). These are lightly sweetened with a delicate warm pumpkin flavor. I kind of miss the sweetness and would probably throw in a couple pureed dates next time when I am making these.

I took them out of the oven at 35, cooled for 5, and attempted to cut them into bars. The bars were very crumbly (a little moist) and ended up falling apart a bit. I proceeded to cut 15 bars and returned them back to the oven.

The bars dried out a bit more, and all the crumbs that fell out turned crispy/crunchy just like granola! Puffed millets are actually chewy. I was expecting them to resemble more like rice krispies. The overall texture of the bar was chewy with crunchy edges and nuts/seeds. 

These are great wholesome snacks to keep you full through the day! My dad said he felt like he was eating rice!

Taste: 3.5 stars out of 5

Still in the process of acquiring a taste for pumpkin.

Texture: 3 stars out of 5

Chewy bars with slightly crispy edges and crunchy fall outs.