Vegan Blueberry Almond Crumb Muffins for Two

01.07.17

Two years ago, I started my new year with a month of being vegan. I thought it would be a good way to detox during the new year and try implementing some new habits. I even invited my meat loving husband to join me, but wasn’t surprised when he declined. This year, you can imagine my shock when he announced that he was also going to try being vegan for a while. I didn’t really believe it until I offered him a piece of cheese and his normal response of “cut me a bigger piece” was replaced with “no, I’m vegan!”

Even though he’s been eating mostly healthy unprocessed food, I can tell that he gets the occasional sweet craving because I think he’s asked me if dark chocolate M&Ms are vegan about a million times, so I’m trying my best to be a supportive wife and bake him moderately healthy treats.

This blueberry muffin recipe makes a super small batch (just two!), so they satisfy the need for carby goodness but also for moderation. I’ve used maple syrup to replace some of the sugar, so they aren’t super sweet. They also satisfy my slightly snobbish need for freshly baked muffins just out of the oven, because I much prefer them to muffins that have been sitting around for a couple of days.

You can make this recipe healthier by leaving out the crumb topping altogether and they are still delicious. I’ve also some different versions using of these other flours in case you want to add whole grains, as well as a few flavor variations down below. This way, you can make a batch every day of the week and have them be slightly different (but perhaps that defeats the purpose?).

You can replace up to half of the all-purpose flour with whole grain spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour. Regular whole wheat flour will work too, but your muffin may be a little dense.

Update: I’ve been making these lately with 100% sprouted spelt flour and liking the results!

Flavor variations:
-Strawberry pecan
-Peach hazelnut
-Apple walnut
-Cherry cashew

Cheers to moderation and the occasional indulgence in 2017!

Recipe adapted from Vegan Brunch.

Vegan Blueberry Almond Crumb Muffins for Two

Yield: 2 muffins

Ingredients

For the crumb topping:

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon rolled oats or quick cooking oats
1 tablespoon sliced almonds, chopped
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon oil (sunflower, vegetable, grapeseed, melted coconut, etc.)
1/8 teaspoon turbinado sugar (optional)

For the muffins:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw)
3 tablespoons soy or almond milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon vegetable or grapeseed oil (if you want to use melted coconut oil, make sure your milk is at room temperature)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

For the crumb topping

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, oats, and almonds.
Add the maple syrup and stir to combine.
Drizzle in the oil a little bit at the time and stir until the mixture comes together. You may not need all of it, or you may need a few more drops.
Set aside the turbinado sugar for later.

For the muffins:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
Line a muffin tin with 2 paper liners.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In a small bowl, take out about 1 teaspoon of the dry ingredients. Add the blueberries toss to coat (this will keep them from sinking).
Add the soy milk, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined.
Fold in the blueberries.
Divide the batter between the 2 muffin liners and top with the crumb topping. Then sprinkle on the turbinado sugar.
Bake for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

https://cakemerchant.com/2017/01/07/vegan-blueberry-almond-crumb-muffins-two/