First day of Spring!! Well kind of I guess. I think it actually starts at like 6:20 tonight, when the temperature is going to dip back done to 10.(Spring my ass) I don't know about you people out there but here in Vermont, we are really hanging on to winter. I have to keep telling myself…" It will be warmer soon and you'll be looking forward to this weather in a few months.. so stop bitching!" I give myself good pep talks.
Anyway, last week at the farm share pick up, there was a nice little surprise. We got a few pounds of some sweet locally grown and milled whole wheat flour. There was a little sign with the information about the wheat and where it came from, but in my haste of gathering all of my other veggies, I failed to take notes and forgot the name of the farm that it came from. But I do know that my farm traded some celeriac for the wheat. I was really excited because I am really into the idea of using locally grown grains and I don't know, it just made me really happy, especially because it was a trade. Food framing and local sharing is stuff that makes me happy.
I wanted to make something to kind of showcase the hearty, nutty flavor of the wheat and I also wanted to make something that my mister would eat for breakfast. Well what better way to do that then with muffins! Banana coconut whole wheat (that just happen to be vegan) Hearty, fruity, and smells like the word lovely and the color yellow. A few to eat and a few to share. Hanging at home, running away or getting ready for a day of spring cleaning….This is a great weekend to make muffins!
The stuff… Light, nutty local whole wheat flour, ripe oh ripe bananas and coconut flakes are the stars in this muffin… But we need the other stuff too. Brown sugar, vanilla, coconut oil and a chia egg. Baking powder, baking soda, and last but not least, salt.
Yup, that sounds about right The salt, baking soda, and baking powder are whisked together. The banana and all the rest of the stuff are mixed up… Then mix the wet mixture into the dry. Stir until combined and then add in the coconut flakes,Scoop mixture into 12 lined muffin cups… A scoop like mine works very nicely. Don't have one, well I recommend you get yourself one. Until then, use a spoon. Something I always do when baking any muffin is sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a bit of sugar or brown sugar. It melts and caramelizes and adds a sweet little crunch to the tops.
Now stick the muffins into the oven. Remove from oven when they look like this, nice and golden brown. Also good idea to check with a tester stuck into the middle. When it comes out clean, they are done.12 happy little muffins cooling on a rack, waiting to be eaten with you mouth.
Doesn't the sight of pretty food make you happy, like sing a song happy? Muffins, whoa yah!! Friday yah yah!! Spring…What, Yah!! Yah…Yah Yah!!!
Terrible I know, but at least you were spared hearing my actual voice.
Have a great weekend. Do lots of springy stuff!
-C
Banana Coconut Whole Wheat Muffins
- 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 4 Ripe bananas
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/3 cup melted Coconut Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds + 3 Tablespoons warm water
- 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
Preheat oven to 350
In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons warm water to the chia seeds and let sit for at least 5 minutes (10 is better) In a large bowl, peel and mash the bananas until they turn into a kind of chunky soupy puree. Add in brown sugar, chia seed mixture, vanilla extract, and the melted coconut oil (make sure it's melted or it won't incorporate into the mixture) Mix together. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix the wet mixture with the dry until combined then mix in the coconut flakes.
Line a 12 cup muffin tin and fill each cup about 3/4 the way up with batter. Sprinkle each muffin with brown sugar and place in oven on center rack. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops 0f the muffins are golden brown and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove muffins from tin and let cool.
Serve as is or maybe with a smudge of coconut butter, or anything you want really.
No need for fork, just use you mouth.
So lovely. Shadow hearts while the whoopie hearts cool. 
Whoopies all paired up
Stuffed with a generous dollop of whipped coconut cream ( a cold can of coconut cream whipped with a splash of vanilla and a tad bit of sweetener) and sprinkled with my home-made beet dyed coconut sprinkles…..