CHOCOLATE-ORANGE-PECAN MUFFINS

This will be a short post-- it's been a long week of writing and cooking!  This is a muffin (almost a cupcake, really) that I developed for my old newsletter, The Vegan Feast, about four years ago and it has remained a favorite ever since-- maybe because they contain three of my favorite dessert ingredients (make that four-- I forgot the cocoa nibs). They're not as caloric, fat-laden or decadent as they seem, and they are whole grain, but they satisfy a sweet craving most delightfully!  What can be better than biting into that moist sweet crumb, releasing the fragrant oils of the orange zest, with chunks of dark melty chocolate, toasty pecans and the unexpected crunchy bitterness of roasted cocoa nibs?

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S VEGAN CHOCOLATE-ORANGE-PECAN MUFFINS

    Makes 12

Wet Mix:  

1/2 cup    packed brown sugar   

2 Tbs    oil  

3/4 cup    nondairy milk   

1/4 cup    unsweetened smooth applesauce  (TIP: Freeze canned or homemade applesauce in ice cube trays and pop the cubes into zipper-lock bags-- each one is 2 tablespoons.)

2 tsp    lemon juice  

1 1/2 tsp    vanilla   

1 tsp    Ener-G or Orgrn Egg Replacer powder  

   grated zest of 2 medium organic oranges  

Dry Mix:  

1 2/3 cup    whole wheat PASTRY flour (do NOT use regular whole wheat flour or your muffins will be tough!)  

3/4 tsp    baking powder  

1/2 tsp    baking soda  

1/2 tsp    salt  

Additional:  

1 cup    (100g or 3.5 oz.) organic bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chunks or chips  

1/2 cup    coarsely-chopped pecans  

1/4 cup    roasted cocoa nibs  

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare 12 muffin cups by greasing or spraying with oil (if you use paper liners, also spray them with oil), or lined with silicone muffin cup liners.

Combine the Wet Mix ingredients in the blender or food processor.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the Dry Mix ingredients. Stir in the chocolate, pecans and cocoa nibs just to coat. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir briefly just to mix.

Spoon evenly into 12 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool the pans on racks for 5 minutes, then carefully loosen the muffins with a table knife and turn them on their sides to cool a bit more before serving (low-fat vegan muffins are quite tender when they are very hot-they firm up with cooling).

 

 Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per muffin): 244.0 calories; 41% calories from fat; 11.8g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 145.1mg sodium; 176.8mg potassium; 33.9g carbohydrates; 3.6g fiber; 9.5g sugar; 30.3g net carbs; 4.0g protein; 5.2 points.

Enjoy!