Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins-In-A-Jar (Recipe Redux)

Do you know what happens when you are a recipe fiend like myself? You write them down on random scraps of paper and then lose them. You type them up in random word documents and forget to save them. Both happened to me yesterday as I went to work on this post for my first ever Recipe Redux.

Amazing first impression, no?

Thankfully I have a wonderful mother at home who is an expert at finding those random scraps of paper when her daughter texts her at obscene hours in desperation. Two hours away and she is still taking care of me.

It is with a smile on my face that now I am finally typing up my entry for Recipe Redux’s November 2013 of Adding Merriment to Mixes. The description for this month’s challenge is:

From hostess gifts to holiday gifts, it’s the season for DIY offerings from your kitchen. And homemade mixes couldn’t be easier! Think about healthy bread, hot cocoa, cookie bars, dressings or even spice mixes. Share the recipe for how you package up a little shelf-stable love from your kitchen!

I have always wanted to make one of those cookies-in-a-jar mixes that just look so incredibly seasonal and crafty. With this challenge I had the perfect excuse to do so. Except my favorite muffin recipe was on my mind instead of cookies and I just knew that a recreated grain-free version would be absolutely perfect.

Check out my instructions below for how to assemble (and bake) these scrumptious muffins!

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins-In-A-Jar

Grain/Gluten/Wheat-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free Options, Paleo/GAPS-Friendly

Makes approximately 18 muffins

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour*
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed*
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Wet ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup honey*
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted*
• 1 cup chopped apples (about 2 small)

Optional streusel topping:

• 3/4 cup ground sunflower seeds*
• 3 tbsp coconut flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup honey*
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted*

*Ingredient substitutions: You can use any kind of nut or seed flour in place of the almond flour to make this suitable for allergies. Ground chia meal would also work subbed in for the flaxseed in equal amounts. Instead of the honey maple syrup can be substituted. And if you don’t have coconut oil on hand, melted butter, ghee or a neutral-tasting oil should work fine as a replacement. For the ground sunflower seeds 3/4 cup of any nut or seed flour would be great.

Instructions for muffin mix jar:

Combine all of the dry ingredients into a glass mason jar or other container. (If you want to include the streusel, mix up just the dry ingredients of that in a separate bowl, put into a small ziploc baggie, and place that in the top of the jar/container before closing). Attach a fun gift tie or a handwritten note with the directions below. Prepare for family members to love you even more! 😉

Directions for mix:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 18 muffin tins with paper liners (to prevent sticking you can further spray the liners with oil).
2. In a large bowl beat the eggs and then add the pumpkin puree and honey, mixing well.
3. Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.
4. Mix in the chopped apple chunks.
5. Divide the batter equally among the 18 muffin tins.
6. If making the optional streusel combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients (it should resemble a sticky dough). Break the dough up into little pieces and sprinkle over the muffin batter.
7. Bake the muffins for approximately 30-40 minutes (oven times may vary). The muffins will be done when the tops spring back when slightly touched and the streusel topping is a dark golden brown.
8. Let cool for about 10 minutes before eating.

After you whip this mix up, check out the collection below for more mixes to enjoy this holiday season:

Also shared at Real Food Forager.

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What is Recipe Redux? 

Great question!

As the first and only recipe challenge founded by registered dietitians,The Recipe ReDux is focused on taking delicious dishes, keeping them delicious, but making them better for you. Dietitians Regan Jones (of ReganMillerJones, Inc.), Serena Ball and Deanna Segrave-Daly (both of Teaspoon Communications) founded the group on the belief that healthier eating should always taste delicious. As the Latin term “redux” means to revisit or reinvent, we are reinventing the idea of healthy eating with a taste-first approach. We aim to inspire the food lover in every healthy eater and inspire the healthy eater in every food lover.

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Questions for you:

Have you ever made or received a baking mix as a present before?

What is your favorite holiday muffin recipe?

Any requests for a paleo/grain-free/allergy-friendly recreation this season?

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins (Grain-Free and Vegan)

Three more classes then I am home-free. Accounting, Astronomy, and Statistics. Arguably this is my most difficult set of classes which I have for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Business Communications and a World Cultures Music Class, which at least so far, seem to be easier.

After I get out of my Statistics class I’m going to pack up a bag (or two or three) of my things and head home for an extended weekend because of the Labor Day holiday. No worries about having nothing to do though because I already have plans (read: homework).

Interspersed with the homework will probably be some baking/cooking, and maybe even swimming. We have a nice big pool at home and I have gotten to swim in it a total of… oh, zero times this summer. Maybe I shouldn’t even go this weekend because it will just make me remember how much I love swimming and then I’ll be mad that I missed out on it this season. It’s basically a no win situation.

Remind me to bring my bathing suit just in case though.

I already have a few posts in mind for the next few weeks, which is pretty rare for me. One or two being surveys/awards that I’ve been nominated for by some fellow bloggers, a few recipes (of course) probably for WIAWs, a few recaps that I’ve been meaning to write for WIR for awhile, and also perhaps a short little picture-heavy post of my dorm room? That last one is totally dependent on how clean the common area looks when it comes time to take a few snapshots. Right now it’s not too bad but like I said, I’m going to be gone all weekend and who knows what it will look like when I get back!

With my plans fully out there, hopefully I will be more likely to actually fulfill them.

Now, let’s move on from the not-quite-as-exciting stuff and move onto the guaranteed-more-interesting topic of today’s recipe!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins 

Grain/Gluten/Wheat-Free, Vegan, Nut-Free Option, No Refined Sugar, GAPS/Paleo-Friendly

Makes 12 mini muffins and 2 ramekins

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup carob powder + 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted*
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed + 1/4 cup water (or 2 eggs)
• 2 large  or 3 small ripe bananas, mashed (around 240 grams)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup to make vegan)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour (use a seed flour to make nut-free)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the carob powder and coconut oil until smooth and then pour out into a thin layer (I used a Tupperware lid about 8×5 inches). Freeze for about 10-15 minutes or until solid.
3. Combine the ground flax seed and water. Let sit for a few minutes to thicken (or microwave for 60 seconds to speed up the process).
4. Add the mashed bananas, coconut oil, honey and vanilla. Mix until well blended.
5. Measure out the remaining dry ingredients and combine with the wet ones.
6. Take out the frozen carob slab, break into small pieces and mix into the banana bread batter.
7. Oil/grease/spray/line the baking dishes of your choice (I used a mini muffin pan and two small ramekins). Distribute the batter evenly and bake the dishes for 15-35 minutes (it all depends on the size of your pan).

Note: I haven’t made an actual full-sized loaf of banana bread out of this recipe yet, but I plan to do so in the future. To make a full-sized loaf you would need to double this recipe and bake it for probably at least an hour. I can’t guarantee the results though with those alterations.

*You can also use your favorite type of chocolate or carob chips here. You would need about 1/2 cup to replace the homemade ones.

It was so hard to not eat this little guy when snapping a picture. But I resisted the urge and placed it back in the muffin tins! Thank goodness too because my family ate the whole batch within a day!

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Questions for you:

Have you had the opportunity to swim this summer?

What are your easiest/hardest classes so far this fall?

Do you plan out your posts in advance or just fly by the seat of your pants?