The Ultimate “Go-To” Muffin

I always have muffins on hand and this is the recipe that I’m currently obsessed with.  It’s based on Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer’s Sunshine Muffins from their Fraiche Food, Full Hearts cookbook. What I love most about these muffins is the amount of fruits and veggies in them. The original recipe calls for beets, and I LOVE beets, but my husband does not, and no matter how many times I try and sneak them into a recipe he always finds them, although it could be the colour that’s giving it away. One day I’ll convert him.

I also generally don’t eat eggs. Primarily because I’m not a huge fan but I also have a sensitivity to the whites. My Dad was a baker and he used eggs, lots of them, so I have a bit of a mental block to baking without eggs, but I’m slowly getting over it. In this recipe, I use half the amount of eggs called for and substitute the other half with flax eggs. Flax is such a great replacement for so many reasons that it warrants an entire blog post on its own. Eventually, I will switch this recipe to 100% flax eggs….I’ll keep you posted on that. Or if you try it out let me know what you think!

Another big shift that I’ve made when I bake is that I don’t use refined white sugar. If you want to use sugar it’s a 1:1 conversion so you can substitute the same amount of sugar or any other 1:1 sweetener. I use a blend of erythritol and monk fruit sugar for this recipe. It’s not as sweet as white sugar but I like that. There are other goodies in there that give a pop of sweetness.

I eat quite a few nuts either on their own or incorporated into something else. And while I love nuts, I use frozen blueberries instead of the optional walnuts or pecans….again, these muffins are very versatile and stand up well to substitutions. My husband has suggested chocolate chips…unfortunately they are not on my list of acceptable substitutes so he continues to be disappointed. Not for too long though because he really loves how I make them.

The Ultimate “Go-To” Muffin

Ingredients

• 6 cups grated apples, carrots, and zucchini (I peel the apples and carrots and use 2 cups of each ingredient but you don’t have to be precise about this)
• 3 eggs, well beaten
• 3 flax eggs (recipe below)
• 1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups erythritol and monk fruit sweetener
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 cups raisins
• 1 cup frozen blueberries

Instructions

•  Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).  Grease 2 muffin tins or line with paper liners.
• In a large bowl, stir together the apple, carrots zucchini, eggs, flax eggs, olive oil and vanilla.
• In a medium bowl combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.
• Stir the flour mixture into the vegetable mixer until well combined.  Fold in the raisins and blueberries.
• Fill the muffin cups so that all of the batter is evenly distributed (I use an ice cream scooper).  Bake for 20 – 25 mins or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool completely in the muffin tins on a rack before removing them from the tins. Store in a container at room temperature for a few days or freeze them in large freezer bags and grab them as you need them.

FLAX EGG (replaces 1 egg)

• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (flaxseed meal)
• 2 1/2 tbsp water

Combine ground flaxseed and water in a dish and let sit for at least 5 minutes before adding to the recipe. This isn’t an exact 1:1 replacement, and I wouldn’t use this egg replacement in all instances, but it does work well in these muffins.