recipe journal // 2

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS //

But if we are being honest, they are much more than that. After my friend Audrey tasted her muffin and I told her what all is NOT in these muffins, she said they should be called "liberty muffins" because they are free of so many things you find in typical muffins. I liked that idea, but I want these muffins to be considered mainstream (a.k.a not hippy food) so a mainstream name it is --> blueberry muffins.

I made these this morning kind of on a whim. I did not give myself an adequate breakfast because I woke up real early and rushed out of the door, so I was hungry. I finally had all the ingredients I needed to whip these puppies up. And (this is key), our house was cool this morning, which is crucial because I have a gas oven that basically become a furnace when it's turned on.

Now I would not say that these muffins come together super quick, but that's the nature of "liberty" baking. Plus, they are worth it. Super worth it. I ate not one, but two. One super hot out of the oven, which I do not recommend, and the next at a nice warm temperature. My roommate, Hayley, ate one and then asked me who they were for. I said, "just for me slash us." So she took another one "for the road."

(recipe adapted from Green Kitchen Stories)

// dry ingredients
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup rolled oats (certified gluten free if ya want)
2/3 cup buckwheat flour (can be ground from raw buckwheat groats)
2 TBSP potato starch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper

// wet ingredients
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup coconut oil, or olive oil 
2 ripe bananas, mashed
5 dried dates, pit removed
3 "flax eggs" = 3 TBSP ground flax seed + 9 TBSP water OR use regular eggs
large handful of blueberries, fresh or frozen

// oat topping
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 TBSP coconut oil
1 TBSP honey (omit if you don't want any sweetener)

// method
preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

grind sunflower seeds, oats, and buckwheat groats (if needed) into a powder/flour using a coffee grinder or a food processor, add to large bowl. add the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl and stire with a whisk. 

let flax seed and water sit in a bowl together for 5 minutes to thicken up, or alternatively whisk up your eggs. bowl some water on the stove or in the microwave, place the pitted dates in the hot water to soak for 5 minutes. add 1 tsp of vinegar to the almond milk and let sit for 5 minutes. mash the banana while waiting for all that. remove the dates from the water and mash with the banana, you want a paste-y consistency. add the rest of the wet ingredients to the banana & dates. Stir well. 

add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined. scoop out batter evenly into a 12 cup muffin tin. in a small bowl stir the oats, coconut oil, honey together. press a few blueberries into the top of each muffin and then top with a little oat crumble. bake for 18-20 minutes - watch the tops of the muffins, cover with aluminum foil if the crumble toasts up too fast.