Apple Hemp Muffins

These muffins are the perfect lunchbox treat – no added oils or fats and not excessively sweet!

This recipe popped into my Inbox in a Hemp Foods Australia email. It originally came from the amazingly talented Dreena Burton’s Plant-Powered Kitchen. I substituted date paste for the maple syrup in the original recipe because it’s more nutritious.

With legalisation of consumption of hemp foods on its way, my Australian and New Zealand readers will soon be able to enjoy delicious, nutritious hemp seeds without fear of ‘the fuzz’ confiscating your stash ;-).

Ingredients:

1 1⁄2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1 cup oat flour (I made mine by blitzing rolled oats in my Thermomix)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp ground cardamom
2/3 – 3/4 cup hemp seeds
1/3 cup raisins or sultanas
1 cup unsweetened organic applesauce*
1⁄2 cup date paste**
3⁄4 cup unsweetened plant milk (I used oat milk)
1 1⁄2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 175°C. Line a 12-cup muffin tray with silicone baking cups, or use a silicone muffin tray. (Muffins without added fats and oils will stick to paper muffin tin liners.)

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and spices together. Stir in the hemp seeds raisins or sultanas.

In another bowl, whisk applesauce, date paste, plant milk and vanilla together.

Using a spatula, transfer wet mixture into the dry mixture, and gently fold through until just combined (do not overmix). Spoon the mixture into prepared muffin pan.

Bake for 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

* If you can’t find unsweetened applesauce in your health food shop, buy unsweetened apple purée – the kind that’s sold in the kids’ snack food section at the supermarket; or make your own. I make applesauce in my Thermomix by blending cored, chopped apples for 5 seconds at speed 8, then cooking at 100°C for 10 minutes on speed 2, then blending for 10 seconds on speed 10.

** You can buy ready-made date syrup from specialty grocers, or make your own: just place pitted dates in a saucepan, cover with water, bring the water to the boil and simmer for 30-60 minutes, depending on how hard the dates are. When dates are mushy, remove from the heat, cool, then transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth. Store leftovers in the fridge.