Eggless Carrot - Ginger Muffins

I was on a blogging hiatus again as I wasn't faring well this past month. What I assumed to be a slight reaction to something I ate tuned out be a case of hives and a viral infection that put me in bed for two weeks. Ironically, it took me another additional week or so of medication for the lingering effect of high doses of pain and allergy medications that I had consumed earlier to go away. Hopefully I am back and won't be on anymore blogging breaks until at least summer time. :)😌

I had signed up previously for blogging marathon and Bakeathon events for this month, not knowing how unprepared I was going to be for both the events. These muffins which I came across at  KAF site suited my purpose well for today as they involve baking (for bakeathon event) and have a vegetable sneaked in (for 'Kids' Delight' event hosted by Vidyha this month with 'Vegetables sneaked in' theme). These muffins are really good according to my teenager though I wasn't that much sold as I usually do with KAF recipes though I could not pinpoint why. It maybe just because that I am not a fan of cinnamon flavor or partially maybe I deviated from the original recipe owing to the ingredients I didn't have on hand.

I had run out of wheat flour and used all purpose flour which shouldn't be a problem as such but one of the reviewers was mentioning that the all purpose flour one was a dud compared to the wheat flour version. I used about 1/2 tsp. ground ginger as I didn't have crystallized ginger. I added an egg substitute instead of an egg and threw in some sweetened, dried cranberries into the mix. I ended up adding a few tbsp. of extra liquid as my muffin batter appeared dry and also I had to bake a few extra minutes than the time mentioned originally. 

Ingredients: (Yield 9 medium sized muffins)
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. white wheat flour
1/4 cup oat flour
1/4 cup golden flax meal
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 - 3 tbsp. sweetened crystallized ginger
2 tbsp. chopped walnuts
1 egg substitute
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup grated carrot
2 tbsp. raisins / sweetened cranberries (optional)

Directions:
* Combine all the dry ingredients including ginger in a mixing bowl. Whisk together egg substitute, buttermilk and oil in another small bowl. 
* Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold in the carrot and raisins if using. 
* Grease a muffin pan or add liners to muffin cups. Scoop in muffin batter, filling each cup almost full. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. 
* Preheat the oven to 400 deg F while the batter is resting. 
* Place the muffin pan in the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. 



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Whole Wheat, Banana and Honey Muffins

Usually I look forward to new baking ideas when I end up with overly ripened bananas. Finishing the last few bananas becomes a daunting task each time I buy them. Especially when the others at home straight off refuse to eat the final ones. However I have no problem in selling them when masked in the form of baking.

This time around, I got to make banana muffins that are healthier and eggless. The staple ingredients of a muffin recipe are replaced here by more healthier and wholesome substitutes. Whole wheat flour and oats replace the flour while the white sugar is replaced by honey / maple syrup. Bananas can easily substitute for the egg in the recipe while healthy olive oil would be a great alternative for the butter.
 
However the resulting muffins were not dense as I thought they would be. They were soft and fluffy. They make a great breakfast / brunch idea or a snack.

Recipe idea: Here
Ingredients: (Yield 8 medium sized muffins)
3 tbsp. olive oil / coconut oil
1/4 cup honey / maple syrup
2 tbsp.  milk of choice
2 large bananas / 1 cup mashed banana
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. whole wheat flour 
2 tbsp.old fashioned oats + plus more for sprinkling on top
3 tbsp. nuts / dried fruits / chocolate chips (I used walnuts and raisins.)
1 tsp. raw sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 325 deg F. Grease a muffin tin or line the muffin cups. 
* In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey / maple syrup with a whisk. Mix in the mashed bananas and milk, followed by baking soda, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon.
* Add wheat flour and oats to the bowl and mix until combined.
* Fold in the nuts / the other add-ons of your preference.
* Divide the batter into muffin cups equally, filling up to 2/3rds of each cup. Sprinkle the tops of muffins with oats, followed by a light sprinkling of sugar.
* Bake muffins for 23 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.
* Allow them to cool on a cooling rack before loosening from the muffin tin. 
 
This is going to be a part of Blogging marathon #64 under the theme 'Wheat based Dishes' and check here to find out what other marathoners are cooking today.
 
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Double Chocolate - Finger Millet Muffins / Eggless Ragi Muffins

 

Though ragi aka finger millet is regularly used in my home, it ends up being consumed only by the adults. My daughter who prefers her visual sense than palate to choose her food had long ago decided that ragi is not one of her favorites and my other non picky kid too has not shown any affinity to this earthy, iron rich grain. However I realized recently that ragi could be sneaked into baking and my kids have no problem finishing any of that stuff. They haven't yet figured out that they have been eating ragi and I could fool even the younger one with the chocolaty additions.

The inspiration for today's muffins came from the over ripe bananas that I had to finish off sooner, my daughter's love for chocolate and the 'whole grains' event, hosted by Kalyani. I used a banana muffin recipe that I have been using for years now as the base recipe. I substituted half of the flour with ragi based one and made suitable changes to come up with these yummy muffins. As I mentioned above, it is hard to notice the ragi flavor in these muffins and is an easy way to sneak in ragi in your kids' diet, if you are planning so.


Ingredients : (yield 6 / 7)
6 tbsp. finger millet flour / ragi flour
6 tbsp. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup mashed banana
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Nutella
3 tbsp. yogurt
2 tbsp. oil
6 tbsp. semi sweet chocolate chips

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 375 deg. F. Grease or line the muffin tin.
* Sieve together flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl and keep it aside.
* Combine the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chips in another bowl and whisk well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients' bowl and stir gently to just combine. Fold in the chocolate chips.
* Fill the muffin cups with batter up to 2/3rds. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 deg. F and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes or until  a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

This is my entry to
1. Blogging marathon #58
 
2. Srivalli's Kids' Delight event, hosted by Kalyani this month under the theme 'Cooking with Whole Grains'.

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Eggless Zucchini- Chocolate Chip Muffins

 
I had asked the other adult at home to get a zucchini and as usual I ended up getting four instead. And also was told that I would find ways to use them anyway. That was true in a sense and I made some crisps, and a bread but was still left with one zucchini. It was not sufficient to make a chocolate zucchini bread but I could bake some muffins instead. I found a recipe online which had eggs and the muffins looked super moist going by the images. I was so tempted by those images that I made them instantly converting it into an eggless version and was very much pleased with the results. Somehow I could not trace the original recipe now as these were made a few weeks back and I forgot to save the link.  

I am surprised to notice that my muffins are kinda looking dry in images but they were moist in reality. I forgot to take pictures showing their crumb and by the time I remembered, there were no muffins left to try. Usually I take a bite of what I bake to notice their texture and taste but I ended up eating the whole muffin as it was really good. The base of the muffins are subtly sweet and the sweetness comes more from the chips when you bite into the muffins. They were moist and yummy and the latter part was certified by my daughter as well who sat and ate three in one sitting. That's like a aatwa ajooba (8th wonder) in my home considering that she needs a lot of cajoling and threatening to eat anything.

Ingredients: (Yield 9 muffins)
1 flax egg or go with any other substitute
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. oil
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peeled and grated zucchini
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Method:
* If using flax egg, combine 1 tbsp. flax meal with 3 tbsp. warm water and let it sit for five minutes.
* Preheat the oven to 425 deg F.  Grease a muffin pan or line them with paper cups.
* Combine the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
* Whisk the flax egg, brown sugar, oil, milk and vanilla in another bowl.
* Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Finally stir in grated zucchini and chocolate chips.
* Fill the muffin cups up to 2/3rds with the batter and place the muffin pan in the preheated oven.
* After 5 minutes, lower the temperature to 375 deg F and bake for another 15 minutes or until, a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

Check the blogging marathon page to see what my fellow marathoners are cooking for BM#52.

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