In The Kitchen with... Veggiegirl!

My adoptee has been busy in the kitchen with her vegan creations these past few months, hasn't she?

So, as part of the adopt-a-blogger event, I sported my baking garb and got prepped to make her "S'mores Muffins", since I knew our girls would love them with the little bits of vegan marshmallows tucked inside!

The recipe was a cinch. These muffins came together in about 10-15 minutes (and that's with my 3 yr old part of the scene and us working on a puzzle during the prepping)!

I made 9 muffins from this batch, which took just a little longer than Liz's 15-18 minutes (roughly 19-20 mins)... but then Liz's yield was for 10-12 muffins, so the longer baking time fits just right with the larger muffins!

I followed Liz's recipe pretty much to the letter, but with these slight modifications:
- used w/w pastry flour instead of w/w flour; just for a lighter texture
- used roasted cocoa powder (I wasn't sure if Liz used raw or roasted, but since roasted powder is darker and similar to cocoa powder in color, I chose the roasted)
- used combo of chocolate almond milk and plain soy milk for the 1 cup of non-dairy milk measure (since I had both opened in my fridge)
- used non-dairy chocolate chips instead of carob chips

The only other thing I did was add 1/4 tsp of sea salt to the dry ingredients. Adding a touch of salt to baked goods enhances the flavors of the other ingredients, so I always add about 1/4 tsp to a batch of muffins of this quantity, or a quick bread, or a small batch of cookies, etc.

The muffins baked up nicely and rose well. Though the name might sound like a cupcake, these are definitely muffins and are not at all that sweet. Since there is plenty of sweetness from the added chocolate chips, graham crackers, and marshmallows, Liz was wise not to overdo the amount of unrefined sugar, though I think 1/3 cup would work equally well as 1/4 cup if you wanted a muffin that's just a touch sweeter (I don't care for overly sweet muffins, but I know some of you enjoy them on the sweeter side).

Liz didn't add any oil to her recipe (I think because she often bakes low-fat treats for her family), and used some applesauce as a fat replacer to add moistness to the batter. This worked well, though if I can give Liz, my 'adoptee', one small suggestion from her adopting veg blogger, it would be to include a small amount (1-2 tbsp) of an organic canola, coconut (warm to melt first), or other high-quality vegetable oil to the wet ingredients. It enhances the moistness in baked goods, and also, since fat is a flavor carrier (ex: just think how tasty deep fried foods are), that bit of oil will heighten the other flavors in the batter.

Kudos to you Liz for your vegan culinary interests and achievements - especially as the young and relatively new vegan you are! Keep the recipe testing going, veggiegirl, and we all look forward to what you cook up next!

p.s. as a little 'surprise' to you, Liz as being part of this adopt-a-blogger event, I will be mailing you a copy of the "Everyday Dish" dvd. Since you already have my cookbooks, I thought some vegan cooking on tv might be in order. Hope you enjoy it!