coconut lemon poppyseed muffins

I was afraid these muffins didn't have a future as a published blog post. I was so excited to bake these and the batter was seriously amazing {IT'S VEGAAAAAN!!!}, so I knew they were at least going to taste great. 

But when I popped them in the oven, for some odd reason, they did not rise into the beautifully round, domed muffins I was envisioning. Instead, I got some flat, lifeless looking things.  When I took them out to cool, the paper cups were pulling away from the muffins and I was like yay close to losing my mind and falling into a crying pile of Sophie on the kitchen floor. 

It'd been a pretty horrible day, and I did not need a baking fail to top it all off. I look for therapy in baking! NOT MORE STRESS. If I was wanting more stress, I'd have studied for that quiz and that test that were technically due yesterday.

HOWEVER. All hope was not lost. When I tasted one I literally said "How the heck are these vegan and gluten-free?" Guys, they taste amazing. AMAZING. Fresh, lemony, zingy, coconut-y, and just lightly sweetened. 

The texture is also SPOT ON, and you'd never be able to tell that they're made from gluten-free flour. I think I added the perfect flour ratios. 

So since the texture AND the taste were so divine, I figured I'd let go of my dome-shaped-muffin-filled dreams because even my mom sampled these and loved them, saying I should post them. 

I like pretty food, so I did all that I could to try to make these look appealing. I removed the paper cups because WHY did they pull away from the muffins, I do not know. It was weird. That made them a lot easier on the eyes. 

But ya know what? Some foods are butt-ugly, but they taste fantastic. And that is these muffins. 

 

coconut lemon poppyseed muffins {GF & Vegan}

1/4 c. corn flour

1 c. ground oat flour

3/4 c. sorghum flour

1/4 c. tapioca flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. poppy seeds

3/4 c. coconut milk

1/4 c. lemon juice

1/2 c. canola oil

2 tbsp. pure maple syrup

1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. lemon zest

Preheat oven to 375º and grease or line a muffin tin; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, and poppy seeds until combined. Add coconut milk, lemon juice, oil, maple syrup, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest. Stir until smooth. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool. 

chocolate chocolate chunk banana muffins

We were out of town for about five days last week, road tripping. Africa-style. Road tripping in 'Frica is not the same as in America, let me assure you. There aren't Starbucks to stop at every 10 miles. You can go hundreds of miles without seeing a single being. If you have to pee, you either have to hold it or go amongst the snakes and hyenas. There are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of pot holes. Did I mention there are a lot of potholes? After our driving, I felt like my insides were still shaking in there. It's a weird dealio.

One of the things I miss the most while being away from home is my food. {Amongst other things like, sleeping in my own bed, going to the gym, being with my doggy, and if we're being totally honest here, I don't have to wear pants. The things we take for granted.} Did you know vegetable-withdrawl is a thing? IT IS. Throughout the trip, my health-food cravings ended up with me laying in bed right before we left for dinner, shoving rice cakes and peanut butter in my mouth like I was being paid to do it. When I found oranges and apples in the little town store {I kid you not, this town consisted of a bakery, gas station/store, and two lodges.}, I nearly did a jig. FOOOOOOOOOOOOD. I never thought I'd be so excited to get away from yummy pastries and buttery fish and fries. 

I'll admit, my priorities are somewhat screwy. Before I was unpacked or showered after driving in the desert all day, you bet these fudgy chocolate muffins were baking away inhe oven. What can I say, chocolate holds a place in my heart. Above personal hygiene apparently. Kiddinggggg. I've been thinking up these muffins foreverrrrrrr. I made that single serving muffin and had high hopes of making a full batch recipe. I'm happy to report, these exceeded my expectations. When I gave my mom a bite, she was all "THESE ARE HEALTHY!?" Little did she know, there were no eggs, dairy, processed flour, or added sugar. So yah. 

I feel kind of horrible about the gaping whole in this blog as far as Valentine's Day recipes go. I'm so not one of those bloggers who post seasonally. But really, why is it that we can only post red velvet recipes starting mid-January and through Valentines? But if I don't make those dates, you're telling me I have to wait a whole year? Uhh no. In my opinion, pink, sparkles, red velvet, and chocolate never go out of style. I think these chocolate muffins count for a Valentine's recipe though, right? They're fudgey, chocolatey, and filled with love. Perfect for sharing with your significant other. Or if you're like me, maybe watching chick flicks alone and eating one or three. Just a suggestion. 

chocolate chocolate chunk banana muffins

3-4 ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 c. maple syrup/honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. non-dairy milk

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. chopped dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease or line a muffin tin. In a large bowl, whisk mashed banana, milk, vanilla, and sweetener. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until smooth. Gently fold in chocolate chunks. Scoop into prepared muffin tin and bake for 25-30 minutes. Yields 10 medium-sized muffins. 

vegan banana nut muffins

Christmas is over. It's kind of depressing, isn't it? After all the build up, two days pass, and you just sit there, stuffed with peppermint bark and russian tea cakes, staring at each other as if to say "Now what?" Honestly, this year I was kind of a humbug. It's really hard to get into the Christmas spirit in 90 degree, humid weather and no Christmas carolers to serenade or freaky Santa Clauses to scare little children. While my family made a few batches of Christmas cookies, I personally made NONE. How sad is that? Now that Christmas is over, I'll just look forward to next year and make a resolution to actually get in the jolly spirit. 

 

While I'm off of school for the next week and a half, I have one thing on my to do list: BAKE. And clean out my closet which will be quite the feat. I swear, I clean it and the very next day, it's as if hours of blood, sweat, and tears weren't put into organizing the madness. Kind of worthless, but it's nice for the few hours it lasts. Anyways, I have a short list of about five or six things I want to bake, photograph, and have written up and ready for when I need something to post but have no time because of school. Ah school, why you gotta go ruin my life. I really do feel horrible about how my blog stats are kind of shrinking. But I'm determined to fix that and dedicate more time and work to it. Fate follows focus! So during my break, I'll work my buns off, but it will be very worth it. By the time I was finished baking these muffins and getting them set up and photographed, I felt as if I'd just ran a 5 miler. Africa. So. Hot. Too hot for all this baking and food prop shenanigans but oh well. Food blogger lyfeeeeeee. 

In my last post, I mentioned how I've been wanting to experiment with vegan baking. Also, thank you to everyone who commented on my little rant! Your words meant so much to me and as sappy as it sounds, they really did give me the nudge to keep working ahead for what I want to achieve and not give up so easily. I'm feeling really adventurous in my baking, so that list I'm going to bake my way through? All vegan recipes. Yup. First up, I thought I would go for something simple. If I were to be asked what my favorite muffin is, hands down I would say banana nut. Besides double chocolate chunk, but that's kind of a given. I've made batch upon batch of banana nut muffins, and surprisingly, I think I liked this vegan version the best. I was really surprised at how fluffy they got, even with the absence of eggs or yogurt, not to mention, no processed sugar in the batter! When my mom was trying a bite, she told me they were super good and I needed to make them again, as she proceeded to finish the whole thing! Vegan, delicious, and family approved, I kinda sorta think you need to make these. 

vegan banana walnut muffins

2-3 super ripe bananas, mashed

2 tbsp. melted coconut oil

1/4 c. pure maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. non-dairy milk 

2 c. wholewheat flour

2 tbsp. ground flax

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease or line a muffin tin; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk mashed bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and milk. Using a spatula, add the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in chopped walnuts and scoop into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool before removing from pan. Recipe yields about 10 medium-sized muffins. 

loaded multigrain muffins

Praise the heavens, I am finally done with that raw thing. I was technically supposed to go until Monday, but decided that if I looked at another leaf of spinach or bowl of hummus, I might cross off health food forever. A girl's gotta have her meat and muffins. I decided that was that on Sunday afternoon when I dug my face into a jumbo bowl of popcorn. Oh, my dearest, how I missed thee. Seriously, if I was stranded on an island and had to choose one food to eat for the rest of my years, it'd be popcorn. No doubt, I cannot quit the stuff. Could be worse, I guess. 

Anyways. I was hit with the baking bug and wanted to whip something up that I could grab for a quick breakfast or after my runs throughout the week. I opened the cupboards to find tons of opened, half-gone bags of nuts and seeds. SO I did what any normal person would do and threw all the stuff 'n things in a muffin. A little piece of advice: no matter what the question, the answer is "Throw it in a muffin." Those words will get ya places in life. 

As the title suggests, these muffins are loaded with all sorts of good carbs, protein, and fiber that are good for those innards of yours. Gotta keeps your innards good and healthy, amiright? They're basically one of those recipes that's like "Open the cupboard and throw every thing your eyeball sees into the bowl." Feel free to switch things up and add different kinds of nuts, seeds, grains, and dried fruit. They make a great snack or quick breakfast on the go. 

With a cup of coffee of course. I've missed my coffee. 8 days was way too long. I think my body learned how to actually function without caffeine during that time and then as soon as I could, I downed two big mugs and was seriously bouncing. off. the walls. BOUNCING. And twirling around the house singing "Augustus Gloop. Augustus Gloop." from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which I, in fact, haven't seen in ages. I thought I might be losing my mind. Maybe. 

Anyways, muffins.

loaded multigrain muffins

2-3 bananas, mashed

2 eggs

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. soymilk

1/2 c. ground flax

1/2 c. ground oats/ oat flour

1 c. wholewheat flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 c. almonds

1/4 c. sunflower seeds

1/4 c. pumpkin seeds

1/3 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease or line a muffin tin; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, honey, soy milk, and banana. Add flour, ground flax, oats, cinnamon, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until just combined. Fold in nuts, seeds, and raisins. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. 

wholewheat banana zucchini muffins

{warning: this is a serious post. cuz I have serious things on meh brain. ugh boring, i know.}

It's no lie, the past month has been tough on me in a million ways. As I've mention before, our American teammates went back to the US for 6 months in July and it's been really hard adjusting to life without them here. Since I'm home schooled, I really don't have many opportunities to get out and meet people other than church and youth group. Of course, I know people. I know many people, but have only had few friendships click that I really want to invest in. Sometimes I think to myself "Do people around here ever DO stuff? Or am I just missing out?" I'm gonna be honest. After months of stepping out of my comfort zone and always being the first one to ask to hang out, I'm really tired of trying. Trying to put myself out there. It's tiring and I feel like in the long run, it's getting me nowhere. I can't even remember the last time I got a text saying "Hey, wanna hang out later?" or "Hey, wanna watch a movie tonight?" I feel like some sort of freak always being the one to ask only to be the one who's let down time and time again . No matter how who's here or who isn't, I need to learn to be content with the quiet. Or in my case, a million little boys running in and out of the house. I can't tell you how many times in these last weeks I've been inches away from hitting rock bottom. Sick of the loneliness. Sick of the nothingness. Sick of the boredom… What I wouldn't do for days filled with going to the mall, sports games, running miscellaneous errands, and people to see. 

Anyhoo, sorry for that. I just needed to let it out. When I'm not feeling the happiest, there is one thing I do and one thing only- I crank up the radio, switch on the oven, throw on an apron, and let all those cruddy thoughts slip away. No idea why exactly, but the past week I've been really craving zucchini muffins. I decided to take the day off of school {homeschool! yay!}, do an hour of yoga, take a hot bath, and then whip up something yummy to destress myself. I was totally planning on putting chocolate in these because, umm. Hello. Not much else can cheer a girl up than chocolate… Well maybe a Hemsworth. A Hemsworth made of chocolate? Yes. That. Back on subject. I totally forgot the chocolate which is kindaaaaaa not like me. I never forget such things. But if you'd like some added greatness, I think some uber dark stuff would be divine. 

wholewheat banana zucchini muffins

2-3 bananas, mashed
2 c. shredded zucchini
2 eggs
3/4 c. plain greek yogurt
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1/3 c. honey
2 c. wholewheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease or line a muffin tin; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk bananas, zucchini, eggs, yogurt, honey, and brown sugar until smooth. Add wholewheat flour and baking powder. Stir until combined. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely after transferring to a wire rack.

orange strawberry muffins

When I'm asked what I miss most about the US {I get asked this. A lot.}, my number one answer is almost always... the FOOD. I miss Starbucks the most, with Chipotle, McDonald's, Culver's, Subway, and IHOP up there on the list too. Sure, I've become quite the health nut in the last year and a half, but who doesn't love a big bowl of RICE with veggies {mmm carbs. my fave.} or a frappucino with a gallon of whip to top it off? When we were in Cape Town, South Africa with my grandparents in February, we heard there was a McDonald's there. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure that was our first stop when we arrived. I put all health aside and downed a chicken sandwich and fries. Oh my word, you guys. That crap mystery meat had never tasted so good in my LIFE. Last week at youth group, my friend told me there was going to be a McDonald's in Windhoek {the capital of Namibia}, just 3 hours away! Yes, you guys. In a couple months, I'll be 3 hours away from a McDonald's. Dangerous if you ask me. Anyways, when he told me this I freaked out, jumped up and down, squealed a little bit, and then put on a straight face and said "Boy. Don't lie to me. This is serious stuff." He wasn't lying. And I'm really excited. Seriously, all we need is a Target and Forever 21, and I am good. to. go.

Anyways, for the next week and a half {errrr something. I seriously have no idea.}, we're having a small group of some 'merrrricans staying in Otji with us! Yay! I love having visitors. I mean, we've only had one so far, but it was wonderful. Something about having people here that you already KNOW from the States is just kind of great. Familiar… Yah, that's probably it. It's so fun being the ones who know what's up and I love showing people what our life is like here. Pictures, words, and blog posts don't do our life in Africa any justice. Not to mention the fact that they bring with them loads of goodies {hello homemade maple syrup. reese's. new TOMS.} I also love having an excuse to bake and try out new recipes. Sometimes I'll make something and it's sitting around for days. But when there's a group of people, whatever I choose to whip up is gone in a matter of minutes. 

As we all know, the weekend is not complete without a good feast of a breakfast. Although breakfast for me is like that prooooobably almost every morning. I'm a freak, but breakfast is really important to me. Since our little team was on a plane for a million hours {weeeee-all. Like 24. Same dif.}, I'm pretty sure they were lacking good food in their bellies. Airplane food is ick. I made sure to have some good muffins made {because duh.} for their breakfast and we also had fruit, yogurt, granola, toast, and hardboiled eggs. I dig it. These muffins are really yummy and fresh and I actually made them gluten free {no one could tell. and I didn't tell anyone. Muahaha.} Oh, a quick little tip! I didn't chop up the strawberries at all and they got kinda… Weird. So just be sure to chop them up a little bit before adding them to the batter. You can use fresh strawberries if you have access to them {sadly, we don't. if only those could be sent with visitors. ha.}, but I used frozen ones. To thaw them, I filled a glass bowl with hot water, set the strawberries in a strainer, and placed the strainer over the hot water while I prepared the rest of the batter. It worked perfectly, just be sure to pat the strawberries dry. I had issues with that and they were slipping and sliding in the batter. Ok, I'm done talking now. I hope you have a happy, muffin-filled weekend!

orange strawberry muffins

2 c. stawberries {fresh or frozen and thawed}

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. freshly grated orange zest

2 eggs

1 c. plain greek yogurt 

1/3 c. honey

1/2 c. freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tsp. baking powder

3 1/2 c. gluten-free flour

Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a small bowl, rub together the sugar and orange zest with your fingertips. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, orange sugar, honey, yogurt, and orange juice. Add flour and baking powder and stir until combined. Gently fold in strawberries. Scoop batter into a lined or greased baking tin. Bake for 15-25 minutes. 

gluten-free banana bread muffins

Today, was one of those days. I woke up knowing I had SO much stuff to work on, and that is never a good start to any day. I skipped my workout which didn't help either. Since it's the end of the school year for me {2.MORE.WEEKS.}, I'm jamming as much as I can into every single day. Exhibit A) Today, I did a science test, an english quiz, a geography quiz, 2 science lessons, an english lesson, a geography lesson, 2 bible lessons, about 5 algebra lessons, and read a couple of chapters of my book for English. I didn't even finish everything I need to, but when your clock reads 4 o'clock and you've been working since 6:30, I think it's a sign to shut the computer and go talk about muffins instead. On the computer. AHHMEHHLIFE.

Anyways, yesterday, my family was gone for the day, so I decided to have a friend over to bake with! I'm going to be honest, I really don't like baking with people. Ever since I was little, I've always loved being in the kitchen alone. Cooking and baking is my stress-reliever. Having people around just doesn't help. I remember going to a friend's house when I was little and baking cookies and we got in a fight over who was going to mix the batter. From then on, let's just say I'm a WHISKINGPOWERHUNGRYBEAST. Just kidding. {?}

 We had a blast baking and chatting and singing and dancing  and stuffing our throats with muffins. Ah, what fun. I did the math to see how many calories are in each muffin, and according to my calculations {I'm stroking my imaginary beard. LOOK, GUYS!}, they're about 80 cals each. Yes, this is real life. Turns out, using GF flour is the way to go. It smashes all those calories and says "You're not the boss of me!" … Kinda like me in the kitchen! ha. Along with the muffins, I made some gluten free brownies. They were awesome, but I have some work to do before I post a recipe :)

I was so happy with how these muffins turned out! I was worried when I read that gluten-free baked goods can sometimes have a weird gummy texture and odd flavors. Seriously, the night before the day I planned to make these, I had nightmares that they turned out like little hockey pucks. Yum. these muffins tasted exactly like my regular banana muffins and had a great texture. They didn't turn out gummy at all, but were super dense and moist. AND for like a quarter of the calories which means you can eat three and that's a breakfast under 250 calories! WIN!

gluten-free banana bread muffins

4 ripe bananas, mashed

1 c. plain yogurt

3/4 c. dark brown sugar 

2 tbsp. honey

2 tsp. vanilla

1 large egg {at room temperature}

1 c. favorite gluten-free flour {The stuff I found at the store was a mix of corn flour, brown rice flour, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum}

1/2 c. almond meal {or almond flour. Mine was pretty coarsely ground so there were some chunks.}

1 c. gluten free oats

1 1/4 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400ºF. In a large bowl, combine bananas, yogurt, egg, honey, vanilla, and brown sugar. Stir in flour, almond meal, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Scoop batter into a greased muffin tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool a couple minutes before removing from pan with a knife to a wire rack. 

coconut peach muffins with coconut oat crumb

It's a known fact, I have some of the worst acne known to mankind. It's stubborn too. I've tried using pretty much every product that claims it will get rid of zits, but nothing. ever. works. We've decided that it might be due to something in my diet. My mom thinks it yogurt or sugar. YOGURT OR SUGAR?????? I have yogurt and fruit pretty much every day for breakfast. And sugar? Well, you're reading this blog, aren't you? I'm not happy. 

We've decided to cut out some of those things from my diet. SO for the next couple weeks to a month, I'm going on a dairy-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free diet. I hate the d-word. Really I do. I prefer "eating clean", but when you take out all that stuff I'm pretty sure it's inevitable. Anyways, this will be an interesting few weeks. I'm hoping it will help my skin clear up {!!!!!} and kickstart some good eating habits. We'll just have to see! Of course since my birthday is on Thursday {the big one five} I'll have a free-pass. Brownie sundaes? Don't mind if I do. 

I'm just going to warn you, the blog might be a little dead for awhile, but I'll do my best to post as much as possible. You bet your bucket full of sugar, I'll share any good healthy recipes I find. Links to gluten, dairy, and sugar-free recipes would be great! I'm actually a little excited to put my baking skills to the test and see what I can come come up with. 

STUPID ACNE, YOU SHALL NOT KICK ME OUT OF THE KITCHEN!

So, muffins. I made these a couple days ago aaaaaand I'm pretty sure I've found the perfect base for muffins. After pans. and pans. and pans. and pans. and pans. of muffins, I think the base of this batch was just perfect. Super fluffy, tender, and not overly sweet. Plus, the combo of coconut, peach, and the spices in the crumb? Oh my gosh, you guys. It's so warm and homey, you might die of coziness. Also, the crumb is pure craziness. As my dad was shoving muffins down his throat, he told me I made a "meeeeeean crumb." Accurate. The topping turned out so flavorful and crunchy, it almost reminded me of granola! Yum.

For the love of all things peachy, make these!

coconut peach muffins with coconut oat crumb

muffins:

3/4 c. plain yogurt

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. buttermilk 

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. AP flour

1 1/2 c. wholewheat flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. shredded coconut

3 peaches, peeled and cut into chunks

crumb:

3 tbsp. butter, melted

3 tbsp. sugar

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. oats

2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. cinnamon 

1 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line and grease a muffin tin; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk yogurt, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, and eggs until combined. Add flours and baking powder. Fold in coconut and peaches. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin and set aside. Next in a small bowl, prepare the crumb topping, mixing the ingredients together with a fork. Divide evenly among the muffin batter. Bake for 25-35 minutes. 

banana oatmeal dark chocolate muffins

Quiet Saturday mornings, home alone, are totally the best thing ever. With our crazy hectic weeks, it's rare for me to have the house to myself. And when I do, I take full advantage of it, soaking up the tranquility of it all. Usually, I crank up my music and bake in the morning. But this week, I decided to really have some peace to myself. No music. No baking. No TV. I woke up to a grey sky and the smell of rain drifting in through my window. Of course with this horrible drought that Namibia is going through, it looks like it's going to rain but doesn't. It's like a trick. Like showing me a chocolate brownie and then taking it away. Not fair. The streets were so quiet and perfect, with no hustle or bustle like during the week when the town is getting to work and school. So I left the windows open, sipped my coffee, and read a good book, letting my imagination wander. Ya know, it's hard to let your imagination wander when there's loud children catching chameleons and running around your house 24/7. Again, I love quiet Saturday mornings. I savored my breakfast without feeling rushed to go for my run or get started on school. Love it!

Breakfast is my absolute FAVORITE meal of the day, in case you haven't been able to tell with all the granola and muesli recipes I've been whipping out lately. It's also really important when I exercise every morning to have a good breakfast that will strengthen the muscles I worked and keep my mind focused for school. I made a batch of super healthy muffins to have on hand that I can grab for a quick, nutritious breakfast with some fruit and yogurt on the side. Since I made these specifically for breakfasts, I made them as healthy as possible. No butter, refined sugar, or flour! The best part is that they really honestly don't taste healthy at all. They taste like a normal banana muffin without all the added junk!

banana oatmeal dark chocolate muffins

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 3/4 c. plain yogurt 

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. honey

1 1/4 c. wholewheat flour

1 1/4 c. oats

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. dark chocolate chips 

In a large bowl, combine the bananas, yogurt, honey, vanilla, and egg. Stir until smooth. Add the flour, oats, baking powder, and cinnamon. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and stir until combined. Spoon mixture into a greased or lined muffin tin, filling each 3/4 full. Bake at 400ºF for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pans then remove and cool on a wire rack. 

And there's dark chocolate. Hellooooooooooooo.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

In case you didn't know, pink is my favorite color. I'm even thinking about dying my hair pink at some point… Not. even. joking. Some people are able to pull off pink hair, some people can't. I'm sure I'm one of those people who can't… I'd probably look like a crazy person and get weird looks in town, because umm… how many people in Africa have pink hair? Not many. But whatever. Normal is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overrated. I honestly couldn't care less about what people think of me- the soon to be pink head.

So since I love pink so much, I knew it wouldn't be long until I would put my favorite color and my favorite food {uhh. chocolate.} into my absolute favorite baked goods… The muchos beloved muffin. I'm sure you know I love muffins. I almost feel kinda bad about how many muffin recipes I share… Do you share my love for muffins too? Good, let's be friends.

Maybe I should think about changing this blog to My Muffin Place.

Yup, muffins and pink hair… My life is obviously undergoing a huge change. 

Ok, so let's stop talking about ME and start talking about zeeeees moooofins. 

For the first time in quite a long time, I went into these muffins having NO intentions of making them healthy. Some things are just left untouched and unchanged… Like black coffee. I honestly don't understand how people put sugar and milk in there. Umm, eww.

In my last muffin recipe, I used a higher whole wheat to regular flour ratio. This time I switched it up, using more AP flour than whole wheat. I feel like sometimes wheat flour can weigh down the recipe and results in more of a chewy texture compared to the fluffy texture AP flour lends. 

For the raspberries, I used frozen since it's all that I can get my hands on here. I didn't thaw them out before putting them in the batter- straight from the bag to the muffins! That way they don't bleed AS much resulting in a purple-ish muffin. Yuck. 

I used two kinds of chocolate in this recipe- a dark chocolate bar, that tastes more like semi-sweet chocolate {I don't know the exact cocoa percentage} and an 85% cocoa dark chocolate bar. That stuff is pretty bitter and tastes like your biting into a cocoa bean… In the best way possible. 

These muffins are fluffy, tart, sweet, chocolatey, and PINK... Perfect for Valentine's!

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

1 c. plain yogurt

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 c. granulated sugar

3 c. flour {I used 2 c. AP flour and 1 c. wholewheat}

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. frozen raspberries {or fresh}

3/4 c. dark chocolate chunks

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Butter 12 muffins tins; set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. 

3. Add in the dry ingredients. Stir until everything is combined. 

4. Slowly fold in the raspberries and dark chocolate chunks. Do this slowly so that the juice doesn't bleed into the batter. 

5. Spoon batter into each muffin tin, filling about 3/4. 

6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before moving to a wire rack.  

Oozey muffins for the win!

Snickers Stuffed Brownie Cups

Umm whoa, you guys… Just, whoa. 

Let's take a break from my overabundance of healthy recipes for a moment, okay? Okay. 

Something about stuffing something rich and chocolatey into another something that's rich and chocolatey… It's kinda amazing. As if Snickers couldn't get any better, they're wrapped up in brownie love. And if brownies couldn't get any better, they're stuffed to the brim with Snickers! Needless to say, taking a bite into these things will leave you in a chocolate coma. Don't worry, it's a good coma. One I'm more than willing to be in. 

It's funny because this week, I vowed to eat no sugar except for on the weekends- I know you probably think something is wrong with my brain. Seriously, I don't know what's gotten into me! And surprisingly, I didn't totally crumble and stuff my face with ice cream like I thought I would. Yay! Of course, since I made these this weekend, umm… That meant I got to eat as many brownies as my heart ever-so desired! My heart desired many. 

Whomp whomp. 

I was planning on bringing these to a get-together. But when I cut into one for the pictures, I instantly realized that these brownies would never make it out the door. I was right. My family LOVED them, and my mom said they may have been one of my best recipes yet! Which I take as a huge compliment, seeing that she is definitely one of my harshest critics. {thanks momma!} 

Snickers Stuffed Brownie Cups 

1 c. butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 c. granulated sugar

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt

4 standard-sized Snickers bars, chopped in thirds

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease a muffin tin; set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and eggs. 

3. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Stir until smooth. 

4. Fill each muffin tin about 1/4-1/2 full with batter. Press in a piece of the Snickers bar and cover with more brownie batter. The tin should be about 3/4 full. 

5. Bake for 15-25 minutes. Centers should be slightly underdone. Let cool before removing to a wire rack. 

So fudgey and chocolatey, you'll have people everywhere falling in love with you. 

Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins

The last couple of mornings, I've kicked myself in the BUTT on my runs. Not literally, just figuratively speaking, here. I usually go about 2-2.5 mi., but the last few, I've gone an extra 2 or so. That just translates to sore legs and a whoooooooooooooole lotta sweat. 

Yuck.

Of course, 4 mile runs is a good idea around the holidays. Running off all those cookies. and pie. and bread. and all that good stuff…It's kinda necessary if you don't want to blow up like a balloon. Just sayin'.

Now that all that heavy eating is over, I'm going healthy for the month of January. Partly because I just want to be a healthy person. The other part, is we're going on vacation to Cape Town, South Africa at the end of January and umm……… I'll be on the beach. in a swimsuit. a lot.

That being said, I'll be making lots of healthy recipes in the coming month. Cookies, muffins, granola, energy bars… All that good stuff :)

Today's muffins are soft and tender thanks to the buttermilk I used. Of course, if you don't have buttermilk in your fridge {we never do.} just use regular milk with a teaspoon or so of vinegar. TA-DA! Buttermilk. 

I also used whole wheat for 2/3 of the flour needed. I still wanted them to be a little fluffy, because I've noticed whole wheat flour tends to weigh my baked goods down, creating something dense and almost chewy. Play around with the ratio of flour. I'm sure you could use ALL AP flour or all whole wheat. It's totally up to you!

Although these muffins aren't super healthy {I still used part AP flour and a little sugar}, they're still free of butter and make for great breakfasts on the go! Plus… they have blueberries. Blueberries are fruit, duh! Nothing to be guilty about here!

Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins

yields 12 medium-sized muffins 

3/4 c. low-fat vanilla yogurt

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. buttermilk 

3/4 c. granulated sugar {plus more for sprinkling}

2 c. wholewheat flour

1 c. AP flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 c. blueberries {fresh or frozen}

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Butter 12 muffins tins; set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, and sugar. 

3. Add in the dry ingredients. Stir until everything is combined. 

4. Slowly fold in the blueberries. Do this slowly so that the juice doesn't bleed into the batter. 

5. Spoon batter into each muffin tin, filling about 3/4. Sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before moving to a wire rack.  

Oh yah, and don't forget to sip your morning cup of coffee when you're whipping up the muffins!