September Muffins

I know, I know. Another food post. But I’m on a roll in the kitchen, and when you’re hot, you’re hot, people!

Get 'em while they're hot!

This morning I had a strong urge to bake a breakfast-time treat, so I ventured up to that ridiculously-placed cabinet above our refrigerator and extracted Dreena Burton’s The Everyday Vegan. I had three overly ripe bananas screaming, “Last call!” so I searched the index for a banana-centric recipe. I found a listing for a banana maple loaf, but what I was really craving were muffins. I simply prefer the hand-held, single-serving muffin to the brick-like loaf (and, truth be told, I can’t be trusted to carve quick breads into reasonably-sized portions). Flipping a few pages back, I stumbled upon Burton’s “As-You-Like Muffins,” a customizable recipe using whole wheat pastry flour and ground oats. I decided to use this recipe as a jumping-off point for my own muffin experiment, playing with the measurements and augmenting the ingredient list with mashed banana, flax meal, peanut butter, walnuts, and pumpkin pie spice. I call my creation “September Muffins,” as they incorporate quintessential fall flavors and boast a dense, cold-weather-friendly structure.

Up close and personal. Check out that texture!

The finished product was hearty, yet moist, and oh-so-scrumptious. I envision myself having one (or two) of these delectable “September Muffins” for breakfast tomorrow morning, slathered with a generous dollop of apple butter and alongside a piping-hot cup of joe. The official start of fall may not be until this weekend, but, for me, autumn has certainly arrived. I can just taste it.

September Muffins

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup ground oats (ground in food processor until flour-like in consistency)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tbsp. flax meal
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or chopped nuts of your choice)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (light would work fine, too)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (you can substitute pumpkin puree if desired)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup all-natural peanut butter (I used crunchy, but smooth would work just as well)
1/2 cup light vanilla soy milk (such as Silk Light Vanilla)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tbsp. canola oil

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups or grease lightly with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients through sea salt. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients through maple syrup. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Add canola oil to mixture and stir gently until oil is incorporated. Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling cups to 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!