Mama’s Magic Muffins

This banana sweetened, chocolate chip quinoa muffin is a meal in itself.

There’s a reason why these muffins are called Mama’s Magic Muffins. Every time I make them, they disappear. They’re gobbled up by my family members as soon as they’re out of the oven. Well, as soon as they’ve cooled off.

These moist, light muffins are packed with nutrition. They’re made with soaked organic, high in protein quinoa flour, soaked organic pecans, mashed ripe, organic bananas, unsweetened, organic apple sauce, and semi-sweet organic chocolate chips (65%cocoa).

They’re so good that you’ll just want to gobble them down without chewing them just like my family! But slow down and savor each morsel with your favorite beverage as a nourishing breakfast or healthy snack. They can also be topped with a butter cream frosting as a festive, healthy cupcake.

It’s taken two years for this muffin recipe to reach perfection! My original recipe was made with unsoaked quinoa flour and the muffins had a quinoa taste to it. My sister said that she enjoyed the quinoa taste, but my goal was to subdue it and let all the other subtle favors delight my tastebuds as I chewed. They turned out so good and moist that I too wanted to gobble one after another. It’s starting to sound like there’re some turkeys around here!

This recipe requires some planning ahead of time for the bananas to ripen and soaking time for the quinoa, and soaking and drying time for the pecans.

These muffins are sweetened with very ripe, organic bananas and the chocolate chips (65% cocoa). The bananas are usually the last three bananas of a bunch of bananas for the week in my household. If I plan on making a double batch, I set aside six ripened bananas. To be sweet enough, they should be brown and speckled. You’ll be able to smell the banana aroma without peeling them.

Two days before I make the muffins, I soak the pecans in filtered water with one teaspoon of salt overnight. I then rinse them, pat them dry, and place them in the food dehydrator to get crispy. It may take up to 12 hours in the food dehydrator. I usually soak enough pecans for snacking and for future recipes.

The day before I make the muffins I soak the quinoa flour in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 23 ounces of organic, unsweetened apple sauce. It’s usually one jar.

On the day I make the muffins, I mash the bananas with a fork until they’re liquidy. I chop the pecans into small pieces.

After soaking for 24 hours, the quinoa mixture in lemon juice and apple sauce has expanded and is light and fluffy.

To this light and fluffy quinoa, stir in: 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla; 1/2 cup of butter, melted; and three range-free eggs. Mix all these wet ingredients together.

To measure for 1/2 cup of butter or any other fat that is a solid, fill a measuring cup with a 1/2 cup with water. Keep adding the fat to the water until the full volume measures 1 cup. The 1/2 cup of fat has displaced the water making the water level rise to 1 cup. Drain the water off and the melt the butter (fat).

In a second bowl, mix all the dry ingredients: 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 cup chopped pecans (organic, soaked, and dried), 4 1/2 ounces of organic, semi-sweet chocolate chips (65% pure cocoa or higher). Add this dry mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients. Mix all the ingredients together.

Continue to mix until mixture looks uniform. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Laddle the muffin mixture into the muffin tin. Fill each liner with muffin mixture all the way to the edge of the cupcake liner. Because I soaked the quinoa, I had enough of the mixture to make another half dozen more muffins. How’s that for being frugal and stretching the dough!

Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes in the muffin tin before removing them to a cooling rack.

Mama’s Magic Muffins

Makes 18 muffins

Preheat oven to 350°

Place cupcake liners in muffin tin.

Ingredients:

Wet:

1 tablespoon lemon juice

23 ounce organic applesauce

2 1/2 cups of organic quinoa flour (already soaked overnight in one tablespoon of lemon juice and 23 oz. of applesauce)

3 very ripe organic bananas, mashed

3 range-free, organic eggs

1/2 cup grass-fed butter (melted) or 1 stick of regular, unsweetened butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Dry:

1/2 cup pecans, chopped (soaked in salt water and dried)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 salt

4 1/2 ounces of organic, semi-sweet chocolate chips (65% pure cocoa or higher)

1. Two days before you plan on making the muffins, soak the pecans in enough water to cover them and 1 teaspoon of salt overnight. Drain the water and rinse. Pat dry and place in food dehydrator for approximately12 hours. They ready when they’re crispy.

2. The day before add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 23 oz. of organic, unsweetened apple sauce to 2 1/2 cups of organic quinoa flour. Stir, cover and let soak overnight.

3. Mashed 3 bananas with a fork.

4. Chop 1/2 cup of pecans.

5. Melt 1/2 cup of butter.

6. Add all the wet ingredients to the bowl of soaked quinoa: mashed bananas, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and mix.

7. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: 1/2 cup of chopped pecans, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 4 1/2 ounces of chocolate chips (65% cocoa). Mix all the dry ingredients.

8. Add all the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients. Mix well.

9. Laddle mixture into lined muffin tin. Fill to the edge of the cupcake liner.

10. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

11. Let muffins cool 10 minutes before removing them from the muffin tin onto a cooling rack.

Enjoyed!

Modifications and suggestions: These muffins can be made without soaking the quinoa flour and pecans. This will give you one dozen muffins that are denser than the ones made with the soaked quinoa flour. Based upon your preference, you can replace the 65% cocoa chocolate chips with regular semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips, or carob chips.

Slightly under bake to get an oozing, burst of chocolate from the middle of the muffin.

Extra muffins can be frozen for future use.

Omit pecans if you have an allergy to nuts.

You can also replace the chocolate chips with raisins and add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Top the muffins with a buttercream frosting and make it a festive cupcake.

To hasten the ripening of bananas, place them in a paper bag and leave on top of the refrigerator for a few days.

These muffins freeze very well.

Copyright 2009 by Nurturing Wisdom