I'll be the first one to tell you that I'm not much of a baker. Between cooking and baking, cooking offers more recipe flexibility which suits my impatient improv in the kitchen style. Even so, sometimes there's just no replacement to something warm out of the oven. Anyone who has baked at all knows that baking requires accuracy and measuring; neither of these my forte.
Even so, I've been wanting to have something to offer two hungry, growing boys that was hearty, healthy and filling. Sometimes carrot sticks and ranch just don't cut it. And the baked snacks that are available for purchase never seem substantive enough. One afternoon, I came across a recipe on Pinterest that looked interesting and offered a way to incorporate more veggies into their diet - always another objective of mine.
Against my better judgement, I modified Marcus Samuelsson's recipe and made my own version of his Whole-Wheat Sweet Potato Coconut Muffin. Now twice adapted, mine contains healthy fat, fruit, veggies and a bit of protein from the yogurt.
I strongly recommend using silicone baking cups like these if you don't want to grease muffin tins or mess around with paper liners.
2 and 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, preferably pastry flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup ground flax seed meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mashed or pureed sweet potato
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup dried, unsweetened coconut
1 egg, beaten
1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk the egg, add applesauce, cooled sweet potato, coconut, egg, and greek yogurt. Fold wet mixture into dry mixture until just combined.
Fill muffin cups; sprinkle a pinch of sugar on top of each muffin and then bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until muffins are puffed and turning golden brown on top. Remove from muffin cups when cool enough to handle. Serve warm. The others will last in the refrigerator for several days.
The result? Sweet muffins my boys beg for that are easy to pack in lunches. Let me know if you agree.
Thursday, August 09, 2012
Back to School Lovin' from the Oven
2012-08-09T18:51:00-04:00
Deanna