After sampling these delicious muffins at our friend Ben, Eli and Jamie’s place on Monday, we wanted to try making a sustainable version for ourselves. Ben-at least sometimes-says that he wants to be a chef when he grows up, and we can see why. He orchestrated muffins that were well-textured, vitamin-packed, and very delicious.
At Ben and Jamie’s suggestion, we traded out the all white flour in the original recipe for a healthier part wheat/ part white/part spelt blend. For Mira’s and my sustainable version we used more sweet potatoes and some shredded apples. All of the produce is from local farms and available here in the middle of winter, and even the spelt flour was a score from the local grainary, Wild Hive.
The batter we made was intended to be made into a tea bread, but when we got out the bread pans, there was a 3-year-old protestor who said no way we were making bread when we could make muffins. Alora!, as the Italians would say.
We brought these to cooking class yesterday for the kids to sample. By the time we were halfway through our class, there were already people coming up to me asking if the recipe would be here on TYM today. That is to say that these muffins are not too sweet but sweet enough, incredibly moist, filled with vitamin C, E, and D, folate, and beta carotene. The proof is in the pudding; all twenty-four muffins were
G-O-N-E by the end of class.
Sweet Potato Tea Muffins
*1/2 c. all purpose flour
*1/2 c. spelt flour
*1 c. whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
*1-2 T. flaxseed meal
*1/4 t. salt
*1/4. t. baking powder
*1 t. baking soda
*1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
*1 t. ground cinnamon
*3/4 c vegetable oil
*1/2 c. lightly packed brown sugar
*3/4 c. sugar
*3 eggs
*2 t. vanilla
*2 c. sweet potato, peeled and grated
*1 c. apple, scrubbed and grated
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Let your mini-chef paper or grease 24 muffin cups.
Measure the flours, flaxseed meal, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices into a large bowl. Have your mini-chef give this a good whisk.
In another large bowl, beat together the oil and the sugars. Let your Yummy crack the eggs into a separate little bowl, and then you can add them to your oil and sugar mixture one at a time-ok, so maybe it doesn’t always happen one at a time with mini-chefs, but you can at least set the intention and maybe one day it will happen. Stir in the sweet potato, the apple, and the vanilla. Now is the time to practice scraping down the sides of the bowl. Guide your mini-chef’s hand in this endeavor, showing them how to go all the way around the whole circle of the bowl.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet. Make sure that everything is incorporated but with restraint. No overmixing.
Fill each muffin cup (we love to use an ice cream scoop).
Big Person: Bake the muffins 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack for a few minutes. Enjoy!
