Recipe spotlight: No-added-sugar Spelt Muffins

Alright, I know what you’re thinking. “Ew! Spelt? No sugar? They’ve gotta be nasty!” 

Putting that aside… these baked delights aren’t just for health nuts and they aren’t disgusting; give them a try and you may be surprised! My sister made these today, finding the recipe in a muffin-recipe library book. I know Vegliving has had many spotlights lately, and readers won’t be inundated with random vegetarian recipes as in many blogs; but I want to share this excellent option for the health-conscious consumer interested in trying their hand at baking. 

These muffins are tasty and easily made and they are vegetarian; however, they do contain one egg and would therefore not be vegan. That shouldn’t stop the vegans from finding an increasingly-popular egg replacement or being creative with applesauce, etc. in place of the egg.

Also, note that the original name was “Sugar-Free Spelt Muffins”. I edited that because these muffins do contain sugar, it is just not the added or refined sugar like in many baking recipes. There is sugar in the applesauce and apple juice, as well as if dates or dried fruits are added.

 

Here’s the recipe. It is typed from the book and can be seen below, or easily downloaded for print with the following link. Please be green and use recycled paper, double-sided printing or the back of some other paper if possible.

Update July 29: the “Download” link in green below the file doesn’t seem to work; try the link next to “email to friends” that is lower on the page. Let me know if you get a dead link.

Click here to download the PDF file for this recipe.

No-Added-Sugar Spelt Muffins: makes twelve muffins. Thank you, The Ultimate Muffin Book.

 

Here’s the online version of this recipe.

No-Added-Sugar Spelt Muffins
Makes 12 Muffins         

Note: See asterisked items’ notes below.

Ingredients:

Non-stick spray for muffin tins
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
3/4 cups oat bran
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dried currants*
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F**. To prepare muffin tins, spray indentations and rims with nonstick spray, or line with paper muffin cups. If using silicon muffin tins, spray as directed, then place tins on baking sheet.

2. Whisk spelt flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in medium bowl until uniform. Add currants, toss well and set aside.

3. In large bowl, whisk applesauce, apple juice and oil until smooth; whisk in egg and vanilla until pale, smooth and uniform, about two minutes. Stir in spelt mixture with wooden spoon until incorporated. Let batter rest for five minutes.

4. Fill prepared tins three-quarters full. Use additional greased tins or small, oven-safe, greased ramekins for any leftover batter, or reserve for other baking. Bake for 25 minutes***, or until muffins are lightly browned with rounded tops. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

5. Set pan on wire rack to cool for ten minutes. Gently rock each muffin back and forth to release and remove from tin. Cool muffins for five minutes more on rack before serving. If storing or freezing, cool completely before sealing in airtight container or freezer-safe plastic bags. Muffins will stay fresh up to twenty-four hours at room temp. or up to one month in freezer.

Varieties:

Almond spelt muffins: add 3/4 cup sliced toasted almonds with the currants. Add one teaspoon almond extract with vanilla.

Apricot pistachio spelt muffins: substitute 2/3 cup chopped dried apricots for currants. Add 1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios with dried apricots.

Coconut spelt muffins: add 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut with currants.

Cranberry pecan spelt muffins: substitute 2/3 cup dried cranberries for currants. Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans with cranberries.

Date nut spelt muffins: substitute 2/3 cup chopped, pitted dried dates for currants. Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts with dates.

Notes of significance after testing recipe:

*. We didn’t add currants and the muffins were also good. Probably would have more taste with them, but they aren’t dire.

**. We used the oven at 380°F and it worked fine. Previous recipes from this book had too-high a temperature. Either way.

***. We mistakingly took them out after about 18 minutes. 25 seems long as well. Maybe something like 22 minutes would be optimal.

Enjoy! Posted at https://vegliving.wordpress.com – July 26th, 2009. -Brian

 

Here is a picture I took of the muffins made by my sister:

 

Try them out and comment what you think! Any suggestions, corrections, thoughts, etc. are welcome and appreciated! Spread the word and share with your friends.

Be well,

Brian

 

Thank you to the source of this recipe:

Weinstein, Bruce, and Mark Scarbrough. The Ultimate Muffin Book. New York, NY: 2004.