Pumpkin, Banana and Date Muffins

I've been on a real pumpkin kick lately, it's just such a versatile ingredient. Coming into summer here I foresee lots of roast pumpkin and feta salads, while from the northern hemisphere there is sure to be an abundance of pumpkin pie and cake recipes. Bring it on!

Ever on the hunt for healthy lunchbox ideas for hubby and the boys, I came across these muffins in a healthy lunchbox post on Fig & Cherry. I made a few small changes to the original recipe - using all wholemeal flour instead of half and half. I also added a mashed banana simply because I didn't have quite enough leftover pumpkin and wasn't keen to cook any more.

All my boys loved these. I think the banana upped the sweetness a bit and helped them to not be quite so pumpkiny (a bonus for my pumpkin-hating husband).

We took these for morning tea on our day trip to Underwater World last weekend and they felt like a real treat! Definitely made me feel better about the fish and chips we had for lunch later that day :-)

Pumpkin, Banana and Date Muffins
Adapted from Weight Watchers via Fig & Cherry

2 cups (300g) wholemeal self-raising flour (or 2 cups plain flour plus 4 ts baking powder)
2 ts ground cinnamon
1/3 cup (80g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) oat milk (or any milk)
1/4 cup (60ml) rice bran oil
1 egg
1 cup (250g) cooked mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup (100g) mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup (80g) dried dates, chopped
1 tbs raw sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 degrees fan forced). Line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper liners and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, egg and oil together. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until just combined. Fold through the pumpkin and dates being careful not to overmix.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tray, sprinkle the tops with raw sugar and bake for 18-20 minutes or until cooked. Stand in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

Finger Buns

Another trip down memory lane with these! I can vividly recall being in a particular bakery as a child - rows and rows of sweet treats, the smell of sugar mixing with fresh bread and piping hot sausage rolls. What always caught my eye though were the finger buns with their vivid pink icing and sprinkles. What could be more attractive to a little girl?

Although I have boys I knew these would go down a treat. The buns themselves are made from a simple sweet bread dough with some dried fruit. Nothing wrong with that! Add some pretty icing and sprinkles and you have something really special.

Finger Buns

Recipe from Frills in the Hills

475g plain flour
35g milk powder
75g caster sugar
2 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast
1 egg, lightly beaten
150ml lukewarm water
40g butter, cubed
1/2 cup currants (or sultanas or cranberries)

Place the flour, milk powder, sugar, yeast and currants into the bowl of your stand mixer and mix to combine. Add in the water and egg and mix using the dough hook for about 4 minutes. Add in the butter, one cube at a time, and mix for another 6 minutes or until the dough is sticky and elastic.

Remove the dough from the mixer and place into a large greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch down the dough, give it a quick knead by hand and divide it into 12 even pieces. Roll each piece into a sausage then place them on a greased or lined baking tray. Leave to prove for another hour or until doubled in size.

Bake the buns in a preheated 190 degree oven (170 degrees fan-forced) for about 12-15 minutes. The buns should be risen, golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

I find most food colourings pretty scary in terms of both the colour and ingredients, so for these I used some all-natural colours. They made some lovely pastel shades which is just what I was after. I guess to get the really bright colours you need the nasty stuff.

Icing

1 cup pure icing sugar, sifted
2tbs soft butter
Few drops of food colouring
Coconut, sprinkles, nuts etc to decorate

In a large bowl beat together the icing sugar and butter until smooth. You may need a teaspoon or so of milk to get the consistency you want. Divide the mix into small bowls and add a few drops of food colour to each. Mix well to incorporate the colour evenly. Spread over the top of the cooled finger buns and top with decorations of your choice.

with slivered almonds

with cachous

with coconut

with chopped walnuts

Making these would be a great rainy-day project (not that we've had any rain much for months) and kids would have lots of fun decorating their own!

This recipe is a keeper.

Baking with Julia - Bagels

Bagels have been on my must-bake list for years so I was really happy they were picked for this week!

The recipe seemed long and a little daunting but there was nothing particularly complicated about it, just a lot of steps and long wait. After reading the P & Q I decided to split the batch and do each half a little differently.

For my first batch I shaped the bagels after the first rise and then rested them in the fridge for 4 hours. The instructions for shaping the bagels were a little vague. I really didn't get the whole 'draw up and pinch the dough' thing (hope it wasn't just me) so I made up my own technique. Which could be why I ended up with this:

Ahem.

So they look more like rolls than bagels. The holes almost completely disappeared during baking (clearly they weren't big enough to start with) and the end result was a little doughy. I'm guessing because there was no air circulating through the middle. They tasted pretty good though and we had bacon and egg bagels for dinner. Yum!

I made the second batch the day after, so the dough had a full 24 hours in the fridge before I shaped it. It seemed easier to shape this time and I made sure the holes were the right size before boiling them. Both times I used sesame seeds and caraway seeds on top which we loved. I dropped the oven temp by 10 degrees this time but they still got a little darker than I would have liked.

But look! I made bagels!

My only negative is that I found these really salty. Like REALLY salty to the point of having to guzzle water for a few hours after eating. So if we make these again I would definitely want to reduce the salt. Anyone know if that amount of salt is important for the texture etc?

I'm also keen to try a sweet version with cinnamon and raisins and if any of this batch lasts long enough I will make bagel chips and update this post.

Our host this week is Heather of Heather's Bytes so make sure you check her blog the recipe and some great photos.

Cocoa, Cranberry and Almond Balls

 
After completing my 3 day juice cleanse I was on the lookout for some snacks that were in line with a detox, that is, no wheat, dairy or refined sugar. What I found online was a veritable treasure trove of vegan treats. Call them truffles, bliss bombs or whatever you like, they taste amazing and are a brilliant portable snack.

This is my version simply based on what I happened to have in the pantry, but the possibilities are endless!

Cocoa, Cranberry and Almond Balls
Makes approx 20

2 cups raw almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tbs cocoa
1 tbs rice malt syrup
1/2 cup dessicated coconut for rolling (optional)

Place the almonds in the bowl of your food processor and blitz until they form chunky crumbs. Add the cranberries, cocoa and rice malt syrup and process until you get a sticky and cohesive mix. You can made the mixture as smooth as you like but I prefer to see the ingredients in the finished product so didn't over-process them. Roll into balls, using coconut if you wish. Stored in an airtight container in the fridge they will keep for up to 2 weeks.

The taste test ...

Absolutely delicious! I'm already planning on making these, as well as a few other variations, at Christmas time. They make a great alternative to sugar and saturated fat filled chocolate truffles. Both the boys loved them too which makes for a happy mummy!

This post is linked to Veggie Mama's Meatless Mondays:

Pumpkin Spice Waffles

Brinner (aka breakfast for dinner) has become a regular feature on our weekly meal plan. And why not?! This week I decided to make waffles, and having a lot of pumpkin to use up, went searching for pumpkin waffles. I think I've said it before but pumpkin based sweet dishes really aren't popular in Australia which is such a shame as they're so good!

I actually felt great about the boys having these for dinner. They're dairy free, low in sugar, use wholemeal flour, eggs for protein and of course pumpkin for veggies. Topped with a little crispy bacon and a generous slug of maple syrup they were the perfect dinner for all of us. You could of course leave off the bacon to make them vego.

Pumpkin Spice Waffles
Adapted from Food.com

1 cup plain flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts bicarb soda
Pinch salt
2 tbs brown sugar
3 ts cinnamon
1 ts ginger
1/8 ts ground cloves
1/8 ts nutmeg
3 eggs
2 tbs melted butter (I used nuttelex)
1 1/2 cups milk (I used oat milk)
3/4 cup mashed pumpkin
Maple syrup to serve

Preheat waffle maker.

Combine the all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, milk, pumpkin and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix well to combine.

Place 1/3 cup mixture into the waffle maker at a time and cook until firm and crispy, about 2 1/2 minutes. Keep warm in a low oven until ready to serve.

Makes 8 waffles.

We will definitely be making these again!