Thursday, October 23, 2008

Cherry almond muffins

Yes, more muffins. Sorry for the lack of variety, but read the muffin chapter of Vegan with a Vengeance, and you’ll understand why I’ve had muffins on the brain. (If I ever buy Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, you guys are in trouble.) These muffins are part sweet, part hearty; part fruity, part nutty. I altered the original recipe in quite a few ways, most notably by using dried cherries instead of fresh. My version is chock full of chewy cherry chunks, and the mild accent of the almond extract makes them taste, to me, a little like the holidays.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup soymilk, plain or vanilla
6 oz. (1 container) soy yogurt, plain or vanilla
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/2-1 cup sliced almonds, toasted if desired
3/4 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Chop those cherries if you haven’t already, and feel free to munch on some as you do so.



Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the oil, soymilk, yogurt, and extracts.



Mix gently with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the cherries and all but a couple spoonfuls of the almonds...



...and fold those in just till they’re distributed. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Partially crush up the last couple spoonfuls of almonds, and sprinkle them on the tops of the muffins.



Bake for 18-22 minutes (mine were done in 16, though!).



Let them rest for a couple minutes in the pan, then move them to a rack to cool, and admire them prodigiously.



Be sure to eat your first one while it’s still warm – you only get one chance!



Yield: 1 dozen muffins. Per muffin: 221 calories, 8.8g fat (.7g sat), 32.5g carbs, 3g fiber, 4g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Banana wheat germ muffins

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2 comments:

  1. Hey Amber, love the blog! Those muffins look wonderful! I've been on the same sort of quest myself, I've been veggie for over 3 years, and have been recently been eliminating one animal by product at a time. I haven't drank cows milk since I went veggie nor have I eaten gelatin. I just recently cut out eggs, and wanted to suggest that I've found 2 Tbls of ground flax seeds plus 3 Tbls of water serve for a wonderful egg replacer. I've been exchanging the flax for the eggs in many of my recipes, including my mother's banana bread she's been making since I was kid and it still turned out perfect.

    Anyway, It's Katie Barnes, in case you didn't realize. Keep up the blog! And the healthy eating habits!

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  2. P.S.-Her pumpkin muffins are delicious! My friend Ashley passed that one on to me :)

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