Out of the Blue-Vegan Blueberry Muffins

This recipe for vegan blueberry muffins has been sitting on my back burner for a while so my friend, Miranda, and I decided to whip some out for a fun afternoon baking session. Luckily we had most of the ingredients and only had to buy frozen blueberries and, because we wanted to make them vegan, Toffuti sour cream. This could be regular sour cream or greek yogurt. The fact that the blueberries are frozen was great because they are on the verge of being out of season so they can be made all year!

(Credit for this recipe goes to AverieCooks.com)

The batter before it was cooked was delicious and smelled heavenly of vanilla. When it was being baked the whole kitchen felt like fall, from the cinnamon and the warmth. It is vegan! A great trick it uses is replacing egg and most of the oil with ripe avocado, the riper the sweeter the better. Avocado is great because it doesn’t have a strong flavor and makes the muffin moist. The result was almost like a donut, the richness and firmness. My family, of non-vegans who are aware when food is not vegan praised these muffins!

The green batter, a little greener than Averie's, from the avocado!

The green batter, a little greener than Averie’s, from the avocado!

Taking them out of the oven! Heavenly smell!

Taking them out of the oven! Heavenly smell!

Yumm final product

Yumm final product

INGREDIENTS:

flesh from 1 ripe to very ripe medium/large Hass avocado, mashed very well (about 3/4 cup)
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil (melted coconut oil may be substituted)
1/3 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream (use vegan versions if desired)
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch salt, optional and to taste
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries (keep them frozen, do not thaw them; fresh berries may be substituted and baking time may be a few minutes less)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, for tossing berries

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a non-stick muffin pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside. (I prefer cosmetically to not use liners, and they could stick to muffins; have not tested liners with this recipe)
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mash the avocado very well. Tip – The riper the avocado, the sweeter it will be and easier it’ll mash.
  3. Add the granulated sugar, oil, Greek yogurt or sour cream, light brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, optional salt, and whisk to combine.
  4. Add 1 cup flour, baking powder, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix. Set bowl aside.
  5. In a small bowl, toss blueberries with 2 tablespoons flour, which prevents them from sinking as much while baking.
  6. Gently fold blueberries into batter along with any flour that didn’t adhere. If using frozen berries, add them into the batter frozen, do not thaw. This prevents them from bleeding, running, and breaking apart as much.
  7. Divide batter evenly among 12-cups in prepared pan. Each cavity should be filled between 2/3 and 3/4 full. Do not exceed 3/4 full, or muffins could overflow while baking. If you have extra batter, make a 13th muffin or sample the batter – it’s vegan and safe.
  8. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes.
  9. Lower the oven temperature to 350F and bake for another 15 to 17 minutes, or until muffins are done. Note – if using fresh berries, your baking time could be a few minutes less. Muffins are done when domed, golden, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. I baked for 15 minutes after lowering the temp, for a total of 25 minutes and used frozen berries.
  10. Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 minutes before removing. Muffins will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.