Sweet Potato Muffins

Last Saturday, I went to cycling class with my father and then made a stop at the small natural food grocery store to grab something healthy to eat before going out for coffee because I forgot my post workout snack at home.  Sometimes, mistakes lead to good great discoveries, such as the sweet potato, raisin muffin I purchased that morning to split with my dad.  We've been through this whole "I am extremely choosy about the types of muffins I eat and never end up eating a muffin that isn't homemade because only about .8% of muffins in the world are truly muffins" thing a million times before.  To my surprise, the sweet potato muffin had grated potatoes in it rather than a potato puree and was packed full of organic raisins and spices.  Just the way I like it!  After eating this muffin, I did what I usually do after consuming a delicious baked good.  First, I told my mother about this muffin.  Then, I began searching for a recipe online.  After multiple searches, I found a recipe that was low on sugar, contained grated sweet potatoes, and had whole grains.  I really like this recipe, however, I did reduce the sugar slightly and add additional spices.

Sweet Potato Muffins (www.easypeasyorganic.com)
Ingredients
2 free-range eggs, preferably organic
1/2 c olive oil (light or extra virgin are fine)
1 tsp vanilla
1 c rapadura sugar (I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 3 TBSP honey)
3 c grated (raw) sweet potato
1 c ground cashews or almonds
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (I used 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp Penzey's Baking Spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 c wholemeal (or wholewheat) flour (I used a combination of whole wheat, spelt and buckwheat flour)
Directions1. Preheat the oven to 320 degree and line muffin tins with papers 
2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse enough cashews to yield 1 cup of group cashews (1.5 cups of cashews whole cashews make approximately 1 cup of ground cashews)
3. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Then add the sugar and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the sweet potato and cashews and mix again.
4. Add the baking powder, cinnamon, salt and flour and mix to combine. 

5. Spoon the batter into the muffin papers - so that each is about 2/3 full. Put the muffin tins into the oven for about 25-30 min, or until the tops of the muffins are golden and ever-so-slightly crispy - and when a skewer inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Ground Cashews

T showing off his potato grating skills

These won't last long around here...

I am here.

Yikes. I haven't written for over three months.  I have been consumed by graduate school, studying for my licensing exam, working, more graduate school, off season workout sessions and dare I say, more graduate school?  Don't get me wrong, I love being a student and know that I am in the right place, however, school does not leave time for much else these days.  I finished up the fall semester and I am finally back in my favorite place on earth: home. Over the course of the last four month, I have pinned, book marked and emailed countless recipes to my mother that I have wanted to try but have not found the time to do so. My mom and I were home by ourselves for the weekend and on Saturday I finally had the chance to bake.  After spending too much time figuring out which of the millions of recipes I had saved, I decided to try a recipe for gluten free spiced chocolate chunk cookies.  These cookies required basic ingredients (you can substitute different gluten free flours, I used oat flour instead of quinoa flour) and came together in just a few minutes.  I was concerned that they did not have any form of leavening agents, however, the cookies are similar to a shortbread and were just fine without baking powder or soda!  After mixing the cookie dough, the dough must be chilled for one hour; I put them outside in the ten degree weather for about 40 minutes. The fresh orange zest and spices pair wonderfully with the chocolate chunks and create a flavorful dough.  I will summarize these cookies with the following: my mother, who I would consider a cookie connoisseur, gave these cookies a 9.5 out of 10. 

Gluten Free Orange Spiced Chocolate Chunk Cookies (www.mydarlinglemonthyme.com)

Wet Ingredients

115g soft butter

¾ cup (150g) muscovado or soft brown sugar

Pinch fine sea salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

The finely grated zest of 1 small orange

1 large free-range egg, lightly whisked

Dry Ingredients

¾ cup (90g) fine brown rice flour

½ cup (60g) quinoa flour (I used oat flour)

½ cup (55g) almond meal

¼ cup (25g) tapioca or cornflour (corn starch)

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground cloves

Pinch ground nutmeg

125g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Place the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and orange zest in a medium bowl and beat with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg a little at a time, whisking well between additions. Add the almond meal, and then sift over the remaining flours and spices. Mix to form a soft dough before stirring through the chopped chocolate. Cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 2 baking trays or line with baking paper.

Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls, flatten slightly and place on trays. Dust your hands with extra rice flour if the dough is sticking. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. Remove from oven, cool on trays briefly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.