(Go ahead and note the storage containers to the right... my kitchen, like the rest of the place, is still largely packed.)
But I think you and I both know that won't keep me from baking. So let's do this thing.
The actual descriptive name for these muffins got ridiculously long, so I'm calling them Bag Lady Muffins. There are several reasons that these muffins scream "Bag Lady!" to me.
1. There are oats.
2. Assembling the ingredients requires several bags just to get from the cabinets to the counter.
3. Spice and tea are involved. I'm told those are old and stuffy ingredients.
4. My plan is to bake these muffins and freeze a good portion of them for later breakfasts. This is, by far, the most spinstery thing I have ever done with baked goods. And I'm doing it on purpose.
Ah, well. There is nothing wrong with being a bag lady. Or a spinster!
So go ahead and embrace your inner spinster and try out these Bag Lady Muffins if you dare. Heck... freeze them and I'll love you forever.
Bag Lady Muffins (I started with the Applesauce Oatmeal Muffin recipe I found here and made a bunch of changes)
Here's what you'll need:
1 c. old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 c. Tazo chai latte concentrate
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. applesauce (mine was Cranberry Raspberry Plus! Fiber, but I won't hold you to that)
2 egg whites
1 c. whole wheat flour (!!)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
dark chocolate chips
Here's what you'll do:
1. Soak oats for one hour in milk/chai mixture.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Combine oat mixture with applesauce and egg whites. Mix.
4. Measure and mix dry ingredients in separate bowl.
5. Add wet to dry and stir just until mixed. Add dark chocolate chips. I added about 1/3 cup but next time I'll add more.
6. Bake in greased and floured (all in one can, I recommend) muffin tin for 15-20 minutes. One recipe made exactly 12 muffins for me.
So how, you might ask, did my sophisticated palate find these muffins?
Well... honestly, I was hoping for a little bit stronger chai flavor. I only used 3/4 cup of the concentrate because I was concerned that the spiced chai flavor would steamroll the poor muffins and outspice me. However, the flavor was really really light. Perhaps even undiscernable. Next time I'll up the chai concentrate to a full cup, nix the milk, and see what happens.
And... just as in other applesauce cakes, the applesauce disappears when baked so I didn't get any sort of kickback from the apple/cran/ras combo. What brought this otherwise pretty plain muffin home for me was the chocolate. The oatmealy muffin may be basic, but the chocolate chips make it intriguing.
Overall, these muffins get a thumbs up from me. They aren't as schizo-crazy flavor-wise as I was hoping they would be, but I think that just makes their Bag Lady name even more appropriate.
13 comments:
i'm not sure you'll get enough of a kick from more chai concentrate. I would go with spices. if you can find an indian spice store get some tea masala or else some cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, pepper, star anise, clove, nutmeg and whatever other warm type spices you can think of.
spinsters are cool. i aspire to be a crazy old cat lady without the cats. no one messes with the crazy old cat lady.
Muffins are seriously under-appreciated. I'm craving some right now.
Do I have an inner spinster? I'm not sure.
Tazo chai?
I'm going to ATL to visit our close personal friend Kira. Are you going to be around to bake?
Me!: You're probably right, but so much effort that would take...
Kate: I agree. Make some!
Evan: Hell yes. Your inner spinster is not as hidden as you think she is. (For starters, you have two cats whose pictures can be found on your desk... )
Pamela: I think we are just missing each other this time. And... about the Tazo Chai concentrate... it's only okay, which is why I decided to start baking with it. :)
that looks awesome and sounds delicious. Hopefully you'll find a way to make the chai come out.
Not that much effort! Reach into the spice cabinet (or plastic storage bin if the spices haven't been taken out yet) and add a sprinkle of this, a sprinkle of that until you get bored or run out of stuff. of course that might explain the quality inconsistencies in my cooking......
Totally not spinstery! (Though there ain't nothing wrong with spinstery habits - even the word is retro cool!) My mother has done this for as long as I can remember. I would do it too if I didn't have the world's smallest freezer.
these make me want one of my everything cookie/muffins... but i want to add chai... and applesauce. yummers.
I realize this is a pretty lame comment, but each time I check the blog and see the title I think it says "Big Lady Muffins". I think I need a vacation or maybe just a muffin. :)
OMG CHAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry... I was gonna leave a better, more entertaining comment, but when I saw chai I lost it!
haha, bag lady muffins!
I should totally whip up a batch of these (apparently more chai needed) muffins for my mom... she's a lover of all things chai!
You are funny - bag lady :P
Nothing wrong with freezing muffins for later :)
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