Hearty Spice Muffins

Not the best photo. These taste much better than they look. Brown foods aren't very photogenic.

Remember those spice cakes made with tomato soup from back in the day? Here's a muffin that also calls for a can of tomato soup. No, it doesn't taste like tomato. It's rich and spicy, and it will make you think harvest time. Add chopped nuts, if desired.


Kari's Hearty Spice Muffins (makes 12 muffins)


Egg substitute for 2 eggs:
2 tbsp flax meal
6 tbsp water

Dry ingredients:
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup oats
1 cup turbinado sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

Wet ingredients:
1 can condensed tomato soup
4 ounce unsweetened applesauce (1 individual size container)
1/4 cup orange juice (or apple juice)
2 tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp vanilla

Add-ins:
1/2 cup raisins, soaked to plump in hot water if desired (or other dried fruit)
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

In small bowl, combine flax meal and water; set aside.

In large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, unbleached flour, oats, turbinado sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In small bowl, combine wet ingredients: flax mixture, tomato soup, applesauce, orange juice, molasses, and vanilla.

Stir wet mixture into dry mixture, then stir in raisins.

Divide batter between 12 muffins cups. Bake for 30 minutes.


Note: These are fairly sweet. If you prefer less sweetness, you might try reducing the sugar by a few tablespoons. Maybe add a little more flax meal to replace it, so the batter isn't too runny. The raisins add sweetness, too, as does the fruit juice. The juice could be replaced with water or soy milk or nut milk or coffee or whatever liquid you like.

If you experiment with alternate ingredients or pans or whatever, feel free to post your results in the comments so others (is that an echo?) may benefit from your courage. ::grin::