I tried a variation on my original sugar-free banana peanut butter muffins – adding cocoa! This addition and a one other, makes these dense, rich treats more cupcake-like than before. I highly recommend you try this and some other swaps – you could switch the peanut butter for any nut butter. You could switch the banana for applesauce or another pureed fruit. Let your imagination run wild with this recipe.
I added ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder to the flour mix. Be sure to check your peanut butter and almond milk if you want to truly keep this recipe sugar-free. Those are two areas that sugar lurks – read your labels!
I added 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed – use a coffee grinder blender, or baby food processor to grind these.
I found a tip on Pinterest about cupcakes and decided to try it with this recipe. It does not work as well as I think it would with other recipes, as this recipe lacks refined sugar. Sugar is not just used for flavor – it also adds volume, tenderness, texture, color, and acts a preservative. See information on sugar at the
Joy of Cooking site here. Knowing your ingredients and their job/role in each recipe is one of the most important aspects to cooking and baking effectively. Knowing the function of a particular ingredient will also help you to make substitutions that work. (Insert
PSA about science in the classrooms and how every student should take science in every school, in every state, across the country here).
So, this time I filled the cups ¾ full, baked them at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.
Yum! Two big ones for the adults in the house and 1 small one for the toddler.
Greta inhaled her muff-cake (that is what I called cupcakes the first time I tried them as a toddler).
We are off to the
Banff Film Festival this evening, hosted by
Greensboro REI. I am looking forward to an evening full of short films about the the outdoors. If you are able to catch this series, I highly recommend it.
One of my favorites from the 2010 year, is called
Take a Seat, where Dominic Gill from the United Kingdom rides 32, 000 kilometers from the northern most tip of Alaska to the southern most tip of South America on a tandem bicycle. The catch is, he must pick people up along the way to help him pedal. The journey takes him two years to complete and is an amazing tale.
One of these years Eric and I talk about being in Banff for the actual film festival itself. It would be a great way to celebrate an anniversary – since we went to Banff for our honeymoon.
Sugar-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins/Cupcakes – makes 16 -18 2 cakes, adapted from The Joy of Cooking, 1974.
Have all ingredients at about 70 degrees. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease or line 16 -18 muffin tins, set aside.
1. Beat until soft: ⅓ cup margarine. Add gradually: 1 cup mashed bananas (about 1 ½ bananas). When these ingredients are light and fluffy, beat and blend in well: ½ cup peanut butter. Combine and beat until light: 2 eggs, ½ cup stevia, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 2 tablespoons ground flax seed.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together: 2 cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoons baking powder.
3. Beat the egg mixture into the margarine mixture. Add the flour mixture to the batter in three parts with ¾ cup almond milk.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Fill about ¾ of the way full. Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan about 5 minutes, then remove to cool on wire baking racks.
All muffin pans should come with lids. Seriously.
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Published by Chelsea
Art teacher by day. Mother of 2 - day and night. Thrifter, crafter, artist, baker, chef, and DIYer in free time.
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