Chewy Vegan Banana Nut Muffins

I am not a vegan, however, I have this fascination with vegan baking. Mostly, it's a fascination with substitution, and seeing what I can get away with to make something tasty, yet also nearly healthy. My primary goal is to make yummy treats that are lower in refined sugars, higher in fiber and lower in fat than their conventional cousins. Right now, I'm just playing with making my own recipes. Below is a recipe I recently made. The muffins turned out beautiful, though they are on the dense and chewy side. The nuts should help with the chewiness, by offering some texture difference. They also increase the protein, which I often need to balance out any carbs. Please let me know if you try this recipe, and how it works for you!

Chewy Vegan Banana Nut Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 bananas, pureed
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preparation

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Oil and flour three mini muffin pans or line with paper liners. Whisk flour and wheat germ, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. Whisk almond milk and vanilla in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and banana puree in large bowl to blend. Beat well after each addition until mixture is evenly mixed, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with almond milk mixture in 2 additions. Mix just until blended. Mix in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups by generous tablespoonfuls.

Bake muffins until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 23-25 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pans and cool on rack.