Chickpea Sunbutter Muffins

This is a recipe I developed over the course of a couple of years, starting from a variety of muffin recipes.

The muffins are appropriate for those with allergies to wheat, nuts, and peanuts. The chickpea flour and sunbutter give them a higher protein content than most muffins, but with the brown sugar and currants they don't count as low carb.

These are intended to be more savory than sweet, with the cardamom rounding out the chickpea flavor. They freeze well, and can be microwaved for a few seconds to be a quick warm breakfast for the kids.

Dry ingredients

• 4 C chickpea flour
• 2 T baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cardamom
• ½ tsp cinnamon

Wet ingredients

• 4 T butter, melted
• ½ C brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 C sunbutter (about half a jar)
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 2 C buttermilk (or plain milk)

Additions

• 2 C currants
• butter for pans

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl
• Electric mixer
• 5 mini-muffin pans
• Baking sheet
• Measuring cups and spoons

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients, using a hand mixer. Dump out the dry mixture onto two plates.
2. Melt the butter in the mixing bowl, in the microwave, about 30 seconds.
3. Mix brown sugar with the butter, until uniform.
4. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and sunbutter.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
6. Add half of the dry mixture, then the buttermilk, then the other half of the dry. Mix until uniform.
7. Mix in currants.
8. While the batter rests and thickens, line a cookie sheet with foil, and butter two mini-muffin tins.
9. Spoon batter into tins, to form 24 mini-muffins. Fill to near the top of each hole, but do not overfill.
10. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 F.
11. Repeat until you use up all of the batter. It will be about 5 pans / 60 muffins.
12. Wait 10-15 minutes before removing muffins from pans.

Yield: about 60 mini-muffins (5 tins).

Hamantaschen recipe

Grandma Evie’s Hamantaschen

These are based on the recipe of my maternal grandmother.

Dough ingredients:

·      4 C flour

·      ½ tsp salt

·      4 Tbsp sugar

·      2 ¼ tsp yeast

·      ¾ C orange juice

·      3 eggs

·      ½ lb butter, melted (2 sticks)

Filling

·      assorted jams (apricot, raspberry, etc)

Directions

·      combine all ingredients, in order listed, using a fork

·      knead in bowl to finish mixing

·      cover and let rise at room temperature for 2 hours

·      refrigerate 1 hour

·      roll out ½ of the dough at a time

·      cut 3” circles, and place on a buttered cookie sheet

·      reroll scraps, and cut more circles (you’ll get about 20 from half of the dough)

·      put half a teaspoon of jam in the middle of each cookie

·      fold into triangles

·      cover and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour

·      bake at 350 F for 30 minutes

Pancake recipe

Pancakes

Adapted from Joy of Cooking (1975)

Dry ingredients

·      1½ C flour (I use whole wheat, can be all-purpose)

·      1 tsp salt

·      1¾ tsp baking powder

Wet ingredients

·      3 Tbsp butter, melted

·      2 eggs

·      1¼ C whole milk

·      1/3 C maple syrup

·      1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1.     In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Dump out onto a plate.

2.     In the same bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. (Make sure the bowl is covered with plastic wrap, so the butter does not spatter.)

3.     Add the eggs to the butter, and mix thoroughly.

4.     Add the milk, maple syrup, and vanilla, and mix.

5.     Dump the dry ingredients into the wet. Mix gently, smooshing any lumps with a fork. Don’t overmix.

6.     Let the batter sit for a few minutes, to thicken.

7.     Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the pan, and swirl around.

8.     Use a ¼ C measure, scoop to fill it with batter, and pour out ½ of it at a time into the pan, to make 2 pancakes. Repeat until pan is filled, 5-6 medium-sized pancakes in a large pan.

9.     Let the pancakes cook until lots of bubbles come up through the top, and the edges are firm. Then flip them with a large spatula. (For flipping, it may help to tip the pan, or to use a fork in your off hand.)

10. Cook on the second side for a shorter time than on the first side. When steam starts to rise from the pancakes, they are done.

11. Repeat steps (7)-(10) until all batter is used. Meanwhile, serve the pancakes and let people eat them immediately. These require no syrup or butter. Fresh berries are a great accompaniment.

Hello World

The first post on this blog is false.