Whole Wheat Cardamom Spice Muffins

If baking is any labor at all, it’s a labor of love. A love that gets passed from generation to generation. -Regina Brett

 In our house, our oven gets the most love during the winter months, when snow days are aplenty and copious amounts of hot chai simmers away on the stove-top. Since most Indian dishes mainly call for simmering, braising, boiling or sauteing (aside from biryanis or a few appetizers) the majority of my everyday meals don’t require an oven. We do however enjoy our occasional banana bread and chai cakes around the year. As our day starts, especially on the weekends, we like to have a little something with our morning chai, whether it’s crunchy rusks, salty crackers or one of these whole wheat cardamom spice muffins; we need something to accompany our morning dosage of caffeine.

These  muffins would be great to make for a quick snack, morning chai accompaniment or even a sweet bite at the end of the day. They’re made with whole wheat flour which makes them heartier and healthier than traditional muffins. The sweetness comes from brown sugar and apple sauce so you can feel confident when your kids (or you) reach for one… or two of these tasty treats. I made these into mini muffins however you can use the regular size muffin pans when baking the muffins. The mini muffin sizes are the perfect size for my toddler, Little Mirchi to grab a hold of and just enough sweetness when my husband is craving dessert.

Tips & Tricks:

– You can make these muffins ahead of time and freeze them in an airtight bag or container. Just take them out to thaw the night before you want to eat them.

– If stored in an airtight container they can last for up to 5 days

– These would be a perfect little treat in a lunchbox – they are mess free!

– Serve these warm with a scoop of vanilla or pineapple ice cream and you have a no fuss dessert.

– Nutmeg has natural warming properties – I tend to add a little extra nutmeg in my baked goods when baking in the winter months.

Whole Wheat Cardamom Spice Muffins

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup cooking oil
¼ cup apple sauce
3 tablespoons whole milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons crushed pistachios

Method:

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin pan or fill the pan with muffin liners. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; set aside. In a separate bowl beat the brown sugar, oil, apple sauce, milk and eggs until they are mixed well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Pour the mixture into the muffin pan and top with crushed pistachios. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops spring back. You can check if they are ready if an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool the muffins on a wire rack.

Serving Size: 12 regular size muffins or 24 mini muffins

Enjoy!