Healthy Date Muffins
Who's my absolute chef idol? Ina Garten, duh. Pretty much everything Ina Garten touches turns to gold, and her recipes truly are foolproof. About a year ago I threw a dinner party and made Ina's Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Bourbon Glaze. And, WOW. This was literally one of the best cakes I'd ever tasted, and my guests agreed! Since then, the sticky toffee date cake has been a staple for all special occasions, or you know, the center piece of a Grey's Anatomy binge sesh.
What I love about the date cake is that it tastes almost like a sweeter banana bread vs. an actual cake. Dates serve as a great natural fruit sweetener. I wanted to do a healthier, muffin version of this date cake, omitting all added sugars, and subbing out coconut oil for butter. And obviously, no bourbon glaze.
I was so pleasantly surprised with how these turned out! They are sweet, but not too sweet. You can eat these for breakfast, as a snack, or even for a lighter desert!
{Healthy Date Muffins}
Yields 12
Ingredients:
9 oz dates
3/4 tsp baking soda
6 tbs coconut oil
1 egg + 1 egg white, at room temperature
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbs baking powder
3/4 tsp agave
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups water
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350.
Pit and chop the dates. Add to a saucepan with the water and bring to a boil, periodically mashing up the dates. Boil for one minute, and then simmer for an additional two minutes. Remove from heat, and add the baking soda. The mixture will bubble up! Set aside.
With an electric mixer on low, cream the coconut oil until fluffy. Add the egg, egg white and agave. Combine the wheat flour and salt and with the mixer still on low, add to the mixing bowl. Add the date mixture in halves. Scrape the bowl and make sure all ingredients are well combined.
Turn off the mixer, and fold in the baking powder. The mix will bubble up again!
Divide the mix evenly into a standard muffin tin.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
