Quinoa - Dry Fruit Muffins ~ Moist, Yummy and Eggless

 

I honestly had no expectations when I decided to try these muffins and was also skeptical about the outcome in terms of texture of these muffins. I somehow had this preconceived notion that the quinoa muffins would be on the drier side. However since I am always gung ho over quinoa as my non enthusiastic husband points out, I wanted to try them out for a healthy snack option (as I don't eat sweet stuff for my breakfast) and also to figure out how quinoa works in baking recipes. 

I landed here while looking for baking recipes that used whole grains. The positive review the recipe got coerced me to try the recipe. I changed it into a vegetarian one and I must admit I was very much impressed about the texture and flavor of these muffins. Besides the muffins rose beautifully too. (I dropped about a heaped Tbsp batter into each muffin cup.) This recipe yields perfect textured, awesome tasting, moist muffins and it is a keeper. It gets five stars from me. Even the signature flavor of the quinoa was unnoticeable and so, if you are looking for ways to sneak in quinoa in your cooking, this is a good one to go.

Ingredients: (Yield 12 standard size muffins)

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup all purpose flour 

1 tsp salt 

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar 

2 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used canola oil.) 

1/4 to 1/2 cup dry fruits of your choice (I used finely chopped dates, raisins, dried cranberries, and walnuts.)

1 banana, mashed

Scant 1/2 cup milk 

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Grease a muffin tray and dust with flour, tapping the excess or use the paper liners.
2. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, dry fruits / nuts in a mixing bowl. Add quinoa and mix well.
3. In another bowl, whisk together oil, milk, mashed banana and vanilla. Add this to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. 
4. Divide batter among the muffin cups, filling them about only 2/3rd. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Mine were done in 30 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. 
5. Serve them as breakfast or as a snack. Refrigerate the left over muffins.

Note:
1. I had cooked quinoa ready. I cooked 1/2 cup quinoa + 1 cup water in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles. It can be cooked in a saucepan too. Bring the water to a rolling boil and add quinoa. 
Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until quinoa is tender and all the water has been absorbed. Don't make it watery.
2. If you prefer subtly sweet muffins, then reduce the brown sugar quantity to 1/4 cup in the above recipe.
3. Don't skip the dry fruits from this recipe. I would personally recommend dates and the dry fruits certainly enhance the taste of the muffins.


This is my Day 3 post under "Baking with Whole Grains" theme. Check here to know what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.
Also sending this to "Dish name starts with Q" event.

Comments