Vegan, Low Sugar, Easy!
Time for another muffin recipe! We love our muffins because they are a great quick and portable breakfast that can be pulled from the freezer as needed. Of course, for everyday purposes, I prefer to keep it as healthy as possible but I also want to keep our taste buds happy!
We are big fans of peanut butter around here, and peanut butter and jelly is, of course, a classic combo. These whole grain PB&J muffins have a subtle peanut butter flavor that complements the jelly swirl nicely. Any other nut or seed butter can be subbed in (I’ve personally used both almond butter and tahini successfully). The muffins come out moist and tender and are refined-sugar-free (if using jam without added sugar). Although you can use any jelly/jam you prefer, I like to use homemade chia jam, which is so easy to make (find my recipe Here) and allows me to control the sweetness. I often eat these with a little extra dollop of peanut butter and chia jam or fresh berries on top but they are also delicious plain.
Another great feature of these muffins is that they offer an easy way to use up most fruit or fruit/veggie purees you have around. I’ve even used up some leftover baby food in these. I generally use a combo of pumpkin puree and applesauce or homemade carrot applesauce, but as long as you keep the proportions pretty close to the recipe, these should come out great. One caveat is to be mindful of any strong flavors that you may not want to have in your muffins; for example beets have a very distinct flavor and can be overpowering if you use too much. These muffins are vegan and can also easily be made gluten-free and/or nut-free.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Blender Muffins
Ingredients:
3/4 C pure pumpkin puree *
1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
1/3 C oil (such as avocado or canola)
1/3 C date paste (recipe Here) OR maple syrup **
1/4 C non-dairy milk (cow’s milk may be subbed)
1/4 C natural peanut butter or other nut/seed butter (tahini works well for nut-free)
1 1/4 C oat flour or blended oats (measure after blending)
1/2 C spelt flour ***
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 t cinnamon
About 3/4 C jelly or jam of choice (chia jam recipe Here), plus extra for topping if desired
* If desired you can replace the first two ingredients with 1 ¼ cup of a different fruit/veggie puree such as carrot applesauce or another mild flavor combo.
** If you prefer sweeter baked goods, you may increase the sweetener to ½ cup and add 1 T more flour. However, the jam also adds some sweetness so keep that in mind. These are sweet enough for me as a breakfast item.
*** You may sub all-purpose, whole wheat pastry, or more oat flour for the spelt flour if desired. The texture will be very similar either way, however if using all oat flour your muffins may be a little denser than if using another flour.
Instructions:
Yield: 12 muffins
Preheat oven to 400° F, spray a 12-muffin tray (I use a ceramic-coated tray) or use muffin liners; set tray aside.
Put all ingredients except jam into a high-powered blender and blend until thoroughly mixed. Alternatively, you can mix all wet ingredients by hand, then add dry ingredients and stir or use a hand blender until incorporated.
Spoon some batter into each muffin well (fill each well about 1/3), then spoon about 1 tablespoon of jam into each well. Divide remaining batter among muffin wells (they will be nearly full). Sometimes I add just a little extra jam on top before swirling but this is entirely optional. Use a toothpick, skewer, or similar tool to gently swirl the jam around each muffin. Bake for 18–20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.
