Sweet-Tooth Friday: Vegan Almond-Quinoa Muffins

By: Christine F

Hi everybody!  This is Christine and welcome back to Sweet-Tooth Friday!  This week I made Vegan Almond-Quinoa muffins from the featured cookbook of the month, Veganomicon.

Vegan cupcakes fit for cupcake snobs

Before I was a vegan baker, I worked at a boutique-style cupcakery that does fabulously creative displays and towers of cupcakes without ever compromising on flavor.  When customers started requesting vegan cupcakes, I just wasn’t sure I could make them to the standards people had come to expect from the shop.

Just for fun, I picked up a copy of  Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and within days the cupcakery was able to offer vegan cupcakes on the menu.    Yes, the recipes are that inspired and that good.  In fact, I attribute my later decision to focus only on vegan baking, and eventually on food law, to that first positive experience.

So when I got my hands on Isa and Terry’s next creation, Veganomicon, you can imagine how excited I was to find three chapters on baking!  There are chapters for Desserts, Cookies and Bars, and Breads, Muffins and Scones.  Holy cannoli!

Who knew quinoa could be so cute?

After deep contemplation I chose Almond-Quinoa muffins to try because I was intrigued by the idea of baking with a new kind of whole grain.  Isa and Terry recommended red quinoa as particularly “charming” in these muffins, so I just cooked some up the night before with dinner and reserved an unseasoned portion.

Besides, when’s the last time you had quinoa for breakfast, sweetened only with agave nectar and dried apricots?  You will be blown away by how satisfying and yummy these healthy little suckers are!

Vegan Almond-Quinoa Muffins

Author: No Meat Athlete

Serves: 12 Muffins

(reprinted from Veganomicon with permission)

Ingredients

• 1 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup agave nectar or pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup almond meal almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1 1/4 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots or currants

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a non-stick 12-cup muffin tin.
2. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the soy milk and ground flaxseed. Allow to sit for 1 minute, then whisk in oil, agave nectar and vanilla.
3. In a separate large bowl, sift together flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just incorporated. Gently fold in the cooked quinoa and the apricots and mix until only the large lumps are gone.
4. Pour into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 to 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

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These almond-quinoa muffins are amazing! I didn’t make any substitutions besides using my silicone cupcake wrappers instead of greasing a tin. I can’t believe these muffins are quinoa-based and have so little sweetener. The almond flour lends a nice buttery taste, but without the heaviness of standard calorie-bomb muffins. Plus the cardamom makes them seem like an exotic treat.

I had great success with this recipe, and what’s cool is that if you have any questions about an ingredient or substitution, there is a forum for The Post Punk Kitchen where readers can post and exchange ideas.

I’m once again very impressed with the quality of Isa and Terry’s work— even my dad said, “Hey! these taste like real muffins!” Gee, thanks, dad! I’m not sure how I will survive until I order a copy of Vegan Cookies take over your Cookie Jar and a Show us your Mitts t-shirt.

Thanks and congrats

Before I go, I just wanted to say thanks for all the congrats you guys sent in about my first 5k. I had so much fun representing the NMA community, and competing in a race really lit that running spark again!

And congrats to Matt for the blog’s upcoming first year anniversary! On yesterday’s list of 75 ways going vegetarian has made life better, I really connected with #75, #69, #17, #15, and of course, #41. Thanks Matt, for the sweet opportunity to write a weekly post here!

See you next Sweet-Tooth Friday!

xoxo Christine