Breads

Name: Pumpkin Muffins with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Icing
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 10 regular muffins
Cuisine: Snack
Ingredients: 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour; 3/4 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/4 tsp salt; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp ground ginger; 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 1/2 cup coconut sugar; 2 large eggs, room temp (or 2 flax eggs, if vegan); 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1/3 cup melted coconut oil; 1/3 cup plant-based milk, room temp or warm; 1 cup pumpkin purée; 1 Tbsp vegan butter; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 2 Tbsp plant-based milk; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 cup powdered sugar

Pumpkin Muffins with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Icing (DF)

October 30, 2019 by Rachael Ng 4 Comments

It’s Fall and the weather is officially getting straight up cold for us. Somehow, we seem to only get a few weeks of nice, mild weather each Spring and Fall, and the rest of the year is either miserably hot or awfully cold. Muffins always come to mind when I think of something quick, easy, and comforting for an afternoon snack on a chilly day. I’ve been craving fluffy muffins this week and really wanted something without chocolate. So I made my Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Bread into muffins (without the cinnamon swirl!). And then I added a super simple brown sugar icing spiced with cinnamon because I just couldn’t resist! Glazed and iced breads are just so pretty.

For this recipe you’ll whip up a quick batch of muffins. Really, it only takes two bowls, and 15 minutes in the oven. And then you’ll heat the brown sugar, vegan butter, and plant milk to a boil. Whisk in the vanilla, cinnamon, and powdered sugar, and voilà! You have a delicious icing that pairs perfectly with the pumpkin muffins! Since the icing is heated up, it will set very quickly. Like, don’t even try to pour or drizzle it over your muffins – that won’t work. You want to dip the tops of each muffin in the icing. When your icing starts to get too thick (which it will), place your saucepan back over the heat until it thins and continue working quickly to get those muffins dipped!

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Whole wheat pastry flour gives these muffins maximum fluffiness! It’s a staple in my pantry, because I just love the texture it creates in my quick breads and muffins.

Coconut sugar is an unrefined, low GI sugar. It tastes less sweet than regular sugar, so it balances out the sweetness of the icing.

Coconut oil brings lots of moisture to these muffins. You won’t taste it at all in this recipe, but if you’re skeptical, feel free to use a refined version. Or you can use another vegetable oil.

Brown sugar is essential for the icing in this recipe. It creates a wonderful flavor that just can’t be replaced by another sugar!

Yield: 10 regular muffins

Pumpkin Muffins with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Icing

Fluffy and moist pumpkin muffins dipped in a delicious cinnamon brown sugar icing! A perfect Fall treat that can be made dairy-free or vegan!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

Pumpkin Muffins

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 large eggs, room temp (or 2 flax eggs, if vegan)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/3 cup plant-based milk, room temp or warm
1 cup pumpkin purée

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Icing

1 Tbsp vegan butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp plant-based milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F and generously spray a 12-count muffin pan with non-stick spray (I used olive oil spray). Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar, eggs (or flax eggs), vanilla, coconut oil, and milk. Whisk in the pumpkin purée. Add liquid ingredients to dry and gently mix with a large spatula until no flour pockets remain.
Spoon batter into 10 muffin wells, filling 2/3-3/4 full. If your batter is thick, you can smooth out the tops with a spoon. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes and then gently remove them to cool on a cooling rack.
Once the muffins are totally cool, you can make the icing. In a small saucepan, add the vegan butter, brown sugar, and milk. Whisk together and bring ingredients to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla. Allow mixture to cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in the cinnamon and powdered sugar. You may need to add a little more milk at this point if your icing is too thick - since it cools quickly, you'll have to move fast to dip your muffins. I don't recommend pouring the icing.
Quickly dip the tops of each muffin into the icing (you can tilt your saucepan to help you), turning right side up to set. If your icing begins to get too thick as you're working, put your saucepan back on the stove and heat for a few seconds until the icing thins out, stirring constantly.
Enjoy iced muffins right away. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

For vegan muffins, replace the eggs with two flax eggs: mix 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 6 Tbsp lukewarm water and allow to thicken for five minutes
You can replace the coconut sugar with white or brown sugar.
The whole wheat pastry flour can be replaced with regular, all-purpose flour, but your muffins may not be as fluffy.

Spicy Hot Cocoa Muffins (DF)

October 25, 2019 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

The weather has been getting chilly around here, which had me thinking about hot cocoa and wondering if it’s too early to start making it (is that even a thing?). But then I started thinking about how glorious it would be to stuff a chocolate muffin with giant marshmallows. It was late at night, I’m pregnant, and I swear in that moment these muffins sounded like the best idea. After a couple of test batches, I landed on these perfectly imperfect spicy, double chocolate muffins. A bit of cayenne and cinnamon ups the flavor profile, and then the giant marshmallows fluff up in the oven and create the most enticing gooey marshmallow mess on top! Oh, and the chocolate chips inside get all melty just the way I like, and basically you have to eat these warm!

I tested out a couple of different ways to do these muffins, and I really like how this final batch came out. They’re basically made with a simple double chocolate muffin mix, and then “stuffed” with whole, large marshmallows. I got exactly 12 muffins out of this recipe, which may help you with measuring out your batter. You’ll add a spoonful of batter to each muffin well, press the marshmallow deep into the batter, and then cover the marshmallow, and surrounding space, with more batter. You only want to fill these about 3/4 full, so the end product (pre-bake) should look a little funny – the marshmallows should be covered but you’ll still see a bump from each marshmallow sticking up. When your muffins first come out of the oven, the marshmallows will have puffed up quite a bit. As the muffins cool, the marshmallow will settle, creating the kind of charred, melty marshmallow cracks you see below!

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Coconut sugar is my favorite sweetener. It’s low GI, unrefined, and now readily available in most grocery stores!

Applesauce gives these muffins lots of extra moisture and a bit of sweetness – you won’t taste any apple!

Instant coffee granules help deepen the chocolate flavor of these muffins. It’s totally optional, and you could also use 1/4 cup of coffee in place of the milk + instant coffee.

Ground cayenne gives these muffins a bit of kick. I recommend adding between 1/8 and 1/4 teaspoon, depending on your taste preference. 1/8 tsp is “barely there” and 1/4 tsp is “these have a definite kick”.

Yield: 12 regular muffins

Spicy Hot Cocoa Muffins

Fluffy double chocolate muffins stuffed with marshmallow and spiced with a dash of cayenne pepper! These delicious muffins are reminiscent of your favorite spicy hot cocoa!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil*
1/4 cup plant-based milk
1 tsp instant coffee granules (optional)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup regular cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8-1/4 tsp ground cayenne (optional)
1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips or chunks
12 large marshmallows

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 12 count muffin pan with paper liners (or spray with non-stick spray).
In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil, plant milk, and instant coffee. Whisk in the applesauce; set aside.
In a large bowl, sift the flour and cocoa powder. Whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices until well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry and gently mix until nearly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop a spoonful of batter into each muffin well. Then press a large marshmallow (flat side up) into the middle of each. Carefully spoon batter on top of and around the up-right marshmallows. You'll want to fill each well about 3/4 full - your marshmallows should be covered with batter but look like a bump under the batter. I had exactly enough batter for 12 regular muffins.
Bake muffins at 350° for 15 minutes. The marshmallows will puff up and out of the muffins. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 15 minutes then gently remove them to cool on a cooling rack or enjoy warm!
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

*you can use whatever vegetable oil you prefer. I used regular olive oil for these muffins

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 208 Total Fat: 8g Saturated Fat: 2g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 5g Cholesterol: 31mg Sodium: 169mg Carbohydrates: 32g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 18g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 4g

calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate

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More chocolate recipes:

Marshmallow Hot Cocoa Cookies (DF)

Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies (DF)

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread (DF)

Chocolate Banana Cake Donuts (Vegan)

Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Bread (DF)

September 20, 2019 by Rachael Ng 1 Comment

It’s probably safe to say that if you’re here then you’re as into warm quick breads topped with butter (or, in my case, vegan butter) as I am. This perfectly spiced pumpkin bread is moist, extra sweet with a swirl of cinnamon sugar, and seriously delightful with a melty spread of butter. I’ve been snacking on it all week, and it does not disappoint!

I find quick breads like pumpkin loaves and muffins to be such an easy snack/dessert to whip up. This loaf is no different. The cinnamon swirl mixture is easy to get together, and then you’ll only need to layer it within the batter before baking. I topped my loaf with about half of the mixture (pre-bake), which yields a crunchy, sugary top to the bread. If that’s not your thing, feel free to mix all of the cinnamon swirl mixture into the batter!

Since this recipe calls for melted coconut oil, it’s important that all other ingredients be room temperature to prevent the oil from solidifying into little oil balls. You can warm your eggs up in a glass of warm water and simply pop your plant-based milk into the microwave for around 20 seconds. Oh, and if you’re looking for a recipe to use up your leftover pumpkin puree, check out my other pumpkin recipes!

Other pumpkin recipes you may like:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (DF)

Pumpkin Chai Spice Rice Krispie Treats (DF)

Pumpkin Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins (DF + V option)

Some of the ingredients I love for this recipe:

Whole wheat pastry flour makes for the softest quick bread! I love using it in my loaves and muffins. For an extra fluffy loaf, you can use all WWPF and no AP flour.

Coconut oil brings moisture to this loaf. Feel free to use refined or unrefined.

Coconut sugar is my go-to low GI, unrefined sweetener. It’s a perfect 1:1 replacement for refined white sugar, and it tastes nothing like coconut!

Yield: 8 Thick Slices

Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Bread

Soft and moist pumpkin bread with a delicious swirl of cinnamon sugar! Topped with a crunchy layer of cinnamon sugar, a warm piece of this bread is irresistible!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

Cinnamon Swirl + Topping

1/4 cup vegan butter
1/3 cup sugar (white, brown, or coconut)
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Pumpkin Loaf

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup plant-based milk
1/3 cup melted coconut oil

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x4" loaf pan: spray generously with non-stick spray (you can also line with parchment paper after spraying).
Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add the cinnamon swirl ingredients: vegan butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Heat up until vegan butter is melted, and then mix ingredients together; set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves; set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut sugar, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin puree, plant-based milk, and coconut oil until well combined. Add liquid ingredients to dry and gently mix until no flour pockets remain.
Add half of the batter to your prepared loaf pan. Drizzle with half of the cinnamon swirl mixture. Add the remaining batter and top that with the remaining cinnamon swirl mixture. Use a chopstick (or knife) to swirl the the two together, making sure to go all the way to the bottom of the pan.
Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs. Allow bread to rest in loaf pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges and gently remove the loaf by flipping it upside down. Allow bread to cool, or slice into thick pieces to enjoy it warm! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.