Cinnamon Puffins

It's been super cold here lately. Yesterday's daytime high was 11 degrees, but rather than complain about the cold I warmed up the kitchen with a nice 350 degree oven.

Aahh. Works every time!

I found a recipe for "Cinnamon Puffins" in one of Mom's cookbooks. It looked super easy to make and super easy to veganize. They look like a muffin, but they have the texture of a coffeecake, and the taste of one of those old-fashioned donuts with the cinnamon-sugar coating. Could a simple muffin be any more awesome?? I was trying to think of a creative name for them, with a mishmash of the words "coffeecake" and "muffin" but all I got was "Cinnamon Muffakes" and "Cinnamon Coffins". Haha. Neither was a winner!

Pictured: Cinnamon Coffins. And please ignore the tablecloth...

Anywho, like the good little health conscious girl I am, I subbed part of the white flour for whole wheat pastry flour. The pastry flour is finer and isn't as coarse as regular whole wheat so it's good for light baked goods. I wouldn't have used refined sugar either, but I'm running low on both my precious agave and maple syrup. The next time I make them I will definitely use an alternative sugar. On another note, the recipe calls for beating the batter, so go ahead and beat it. They really aren't like muffins so you don't have to worry about over-mixing it. Be prepared to make these for family, friends, and boy/girlfriends on a regular basis!

And one last thing... DO NOT FEAR THE NUTMEG!!!!

Really. It makes the muffin! Or com-uffin?

Cinnamon Puffins:
For the muffin:
1 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. non-hydrogenated shortening
1/2 c. almond milk
1 Tb. milled flax seed mixed with 1/4 c. warm water
1/2 tsp. vanilla

For the cinnamony goodness:
1/4 c. vegan butter, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

For the muffins:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix together the milled flax seed and warm water and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the white flour, wheat flour, baking powder, sea salt, and nutmeg. Stir with a whisk until well-combined.
4. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and shortening until fluffy. Add the flax egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Then beat in the almond milk.
5. Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the wet ingredients and beat until combined.
6. Spray a 12 count muffin pan with nonstick and filled the cups about 2/3 full.
7. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

For the cinnamony goodness:
1. Combine the softened vegan butter, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

To finish up the muffins:
1. Take the hot muffins out off the pan and place them on a plate.
2. Cover each one of the muffins with the cinnamon spread. It will get hot and melt all over the place, but that's good because you want to allow the goodness to coat the sides as well.
3. Go ahead and put on some more of the cinnamon spread. You want a lot. That's what makes this amazing.
4. Allow the muffins to cool. Hot muffins are messy, but once they cool off you get the most perfect crispy cinnamon-buttery crunch to the outside. They're glorious!

And no-one knows they're vegan...

JUICE OF THE DAY:

CRANBERRY-ORANGE JUICE!

This juice was quite tasty! I was surprised because unsweetened cranberries tend to be very tangy (for lack of a better word!). The orange in this drink added the perfect amount of natural sweetness. As someone you used to drink plain, unsweetened cranberry juice by the liter, I think that this is a much better idea. 100x more enjoyable! 

Cranberry-Orange Juice

2 c. fresh cranberries

1 orange, peeled

Run the cranberries and the orange through your juicer. Give a swirl before drinking and enjoy this juice's protective benefits on your um... urinary tract health. Yes.

Coming up: vegetable stew and dumplings (like the chicken kind, only without the chicken)! and I'm starting to get a hankering for some pancakes...