It's been a challenge to "get the white out" and come up with a dessert that is as tasty as those made with white flour and white sugar.
Whole wheat flour and spelt flour are my choice of the moment for lightness. I plan to look into the gluten issue and flours such as tapioca which do not contain this.
Now sugar replacement: wow. Thing is sugar is so - sweet; no taste - just sweet. I have been experimenting with fruits. Green grapes seemed promising but the water content was problematic. Grated coconut has potential.
Raisins are good. Dates are better. Both satisfy the wish for something sweet but without triggering the finally-tamed sugar addiction.
Today I made these oatmeal muffins again but this time wrote down the recipe.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. I have just discovered silicone muffin cup pans and find they are wonderful. Apparently the trick to them not sticking is to put them on a baking sheet, fill with batter, and bake but then, as soon as they are taken from the oven put the pan (watch, it is a bit wriggly) onto a rack or wicker to cool and then when the silicone is cool to the touch, gently turn them over. Voila - the muffins fall right out. They wash easily. Some instructions say to lightly oil the cups before filling with batter and I do this although some info does not mention doing this. So - get muffin cups ready whatever kind you use.
Put 1 cup pitted baking dates into 1/2 cup water in a saucepan and cook until they soften - about five to ten minutes. Let cool and add 1 cup milk (I use soya milk but any should do), 1/2 cup veg oil (or melted butter) and one egg. Put in blender container and liquefy.
In another bowl put 1 cup rolled oats (I use the medium kind, not instant or old fashioned), 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp soda, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and stir to mix. I added 1/2 cup dried cranberries which add to the sweetness and give nice bursts of colour but I think the muffins might be sweet enough without.
Pour liquid from blender onto dry ingredients and mix well. Muffin recipes say only to stir to moisten but my experience with this has been that I tend to get unmixed pockets of dry stuff so I - "mix well." Actually, this batter is more cake-like than muffin-like. Do whatever has worked for you in the past.
Bake for 20 - 30 min until muffins spring back to a light touch. I got 10 muffins from this recipe because I like large muffins but you could likely get a dozen.
They are light and fragrant and delicious and I expect them to freeze well.
I would like to hear of other alternatives to white flour and white sugar. So far my experience of artificial sweeteners has been that they taste like artificial sweeteners and tend to trigger cravings. Honey tastes great but does the same.
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