update: vegan banana muffins

Baked those guys again yesterday afternoon. Used a bit less batter in the muffin tins and got a full dozen this time. They tasted just as fantastic as they did the first time! So it wasn't a fluke :) Had twelve yesterday at 3:00ish, and now there are only four left.

<3

Mission: Vegan

I know if done right, vegan baked goods can taste incredible. Back home, at my favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurant, they make a really good chocolate cake and vanilla frosting. I have no idea how they do it without milk, eggs, and butter, but they do. And sure, there are hundreds of bakeries with vegan goodies that even a carnivore would eat. However, after eating the vegan baked goods at my school's cafeteria, my faith in vegan baking was waning.

Seriously. The vegan muffins that appear on weekend brunches taste as sickly as they look. (maybe that's an over exaggeration, but they don't taste nearly as good as a normal muffin)

So, after a promise to a vegan friend that one day I would bake treats he could eat, I found a vegan banana muffin recipe and a daunting task: make it edible.

The first time I ever baked something vegan was at Jenny's house way back in high school. She didn't have some non-vegan ingredient in her house, probably eggs, so a bunch of us decided instead of going out to get the ingredient, we would just make a vegan dessert and settled on peanut butter bars. They turned out flaky (in a bad way) and tasteless.



These muffins worried me at first. The batter looked watery and tasted too floury but I followed the recipe so there wasn't much else to do. I popped them in the oven and as they were baking, they rose to HUGE heights! Totally thought I filled the muffin tins too high with batter but after they were finished baking and had cooled, they were perfect. And a little funny looking. I did happen to run out of cupcake liners but the muffins came out of the tin without struggle and with a tan. The tops of the muffins were a pale cream and the sides were a golden brown. Silly looking, but the taste? You wouldn't even know it was vegan. They were moist and banana-y and delicious! It's a recipe I would use over and over again.

And my vegan friend approved. Those muffins barely lasted 48 hours.
Yo, cafeteria. You better step up your game because vegan muffins can taste pretty damn good.

oh so hipster martha stewart.
<3

And they come with wheels!

I think this article speaks for itself.

Who could resist a cupcake on wheels?!
Insane.

<3

Cookins!

Oh, look! Cookins!

So, yes, after making delicious Silver Palate cookie dough (it's my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe) and then placing it in muffin tins, all was not lost. Honestly, there's something awfully disappointing about a bad batch of baked goods, but luckily, cookies baked in muffin tins was a success. Like the brownies, you end up getting a denser, bigger portion of the original baked good. They turned out great and tasted just as they should, although a few of the cookins (cookie+muffin = cookin) had tops that were sunken in. But that just got me thinking that they need either a scoop of ice cream on top or some frosting to patch the hole. Or, you know, those are always good test trys. You know: the cookie that doesn't look as nice and neat as the others so it becomes the first one you eat, just to make sure it tastes alright.

A success. Which is good since I'm still too lazy to buy cookie sheets. In time, in time but until then, I will probably continue to bake in that tin.
I also don't have a mixing bowl. That's why the cookie dough was prepared in a pot. A very handy, trusty pot. We filled the tins about halfway full of dough and they baked a bit longer than the normal 8-10 minutes, but not much.
Totally recommend this recipe.

cookie muffins?!

Can you bake cookies in cupcake tins?
Possibly yes.
The answer...in a few moments.

edit: Yes you can! More soon. <3