Blueberry Muffins

I am always on the lookout for a good blueberry muffin recipe, especially one that I can use during Lent.  Muffins are my favorite Lenten breakfast.  Blueberry muffins, however, generally don't turn out well when they are vegan.  I've tried and failed many times.

Today, though, I tried a new recipe.  Bumble Bee wanted banana muffins (our go-to muffin), but I had a bunch of blueberries I wanted to use up before they could go bad.  A quick Google search brought me to a new recipe at the Speckled Palate.  It seemed promising, but I was missing applesauce and didn't want quite so much sugar.  So, I tweaked it just a bit, and with Bumble Bee's assistance, I made a nice batch of blueberry muffins.  I also generally like just to throw everything in and mix, so my step-by-step was a little different, too, but  I don't think my lazy style hurt.

I will admit these aren't strictly Lenten because they do require a smidgen of oil, but if you don't mind that or can wait for an oil & wine day, they're worth the effort.  Even with about a third of the sugar called for in the original, they were still nicely sweetened.

Ingredients

• 1 medium mashed banana
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼  teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar + 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup original flavored soymilk
• water as needed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat the blueberries in 1 tablespoon of flour. Set aside.
3. Stir together salt, sugar, oil, bananas, and vanilla. 
4. Stir in soymilk, baking powder, baking soda and vinegar. (Bumble Bee enjoyed watching it all froth as I added the vinegar.
5. Add flour stirring until just mixed.
6. Add water as needed to make the batter more pourable (I found it to be too doughy with the original liquid content).
7. Fold in blueberries.
8. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

A Breakfast to Finish the Fast

I realize I didn't post nearly as many Lenten recipes as I thought I would.  Here's a great Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin recipe that I adapted years ago from a basic banana bread.  It is a hit with the kids, and I often bake these to give to new neighbors, who love them, too.

Ingredients
3 ripe bananas
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/8 cup sugar (optional)
1/2 tsp salt (omit if not using sugar)
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda

1/4 - 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup oil or tahini

If you have a large Kitchen-aid mixer, you can throw everything in and mix.  If not, mash the bananas in a small bowl.  Mix the dry ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients and bananas, and mix.  Pour into 12 muffin cups, and bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes (I don't preheat).

I no longer use sugar because we've been trying to cut out refined sugar. These are still a hit with the kids because the bananas with the bit of chocolate chips really give it a sweet punch.  The walnuts are a great source of omega 3s, but if you don't like them, you can substitute ground flax seed (I do about 1 tablespoon) for a tasteless source of omega 3s.