Adventures in Cooking: Special sweet treats for the holidays

Majida Rashid

I remain in high spirits after my most favorite holiday – Thanksgiving, and my excitement leeches into the month of December. 

In December every American household, irrespective of religious or other background, gets caught up in the festive spirit. Entertaining family and friends becomes a must during this season. Sweets abound and impulse trips to coffee shops and supermarkets, which allure customers with enticing cakes and pastries, become a norm for a couple of weeks.
Overindulgence is followed by regrets which lead to New Year resolutions!

However, here is something to curb regrets and kick start your New Year’s resolution to eat healthy and maintain an optimum weight even before the arrival of New Year. These muffins satisfy your sweet tooth without overloading the body with sugar and starch from white flour. They are popular with children and adults alike. Most of the preparation can be done in advance. They also freeze well, though there is nothing like the welcoming aroma of freshly baked muffins.

Almonds: It’s best to grind almonds in a food processor as it doesn’t pulverize the nuts into fine powder. Tiny bits in the flour add texture. A?coffee grinder can make them powdery and other ingredients will need adjusting accordingly. I always grind at least a pound of almonds and refrigerate them in a glass jar. They stay fresh for months.

Oats can be ground either a day before baking or ground and stored weeks head, like almonds.

Dates: Pitted dates are available but dates with pits are moister. Majdool dates are sold everywhere and they are usually big, hence five would suffice. However, it’s worth using other dates as well. Add a couple more if using smaller dates. Middle Eastern stores usually carry more than one variety.

Dried apricots can be chopped in advance. Store in an airtight container and keep outside the fridge to retain moisture and softness.


Nutty Muffins

Ingredients

Five large dates pitted

3/4 cup hot water

1 cup whole rolled oats

2 eggs at room temperature

A good pinch of salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 bananas, roughly chopped

3-4 tablespoon cooking oil of your choice

Extra oil for coating muffin pans

A little white flour to dust muffin pans

1 cup almond flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup baking soda

4 dried apricots, finely chopped

The night before: Remove pits from the dates, if any. Soak them in hot water, cover and keep outside the fridge. This will soften the dates and make it easier to blend with other ingredients. Grind the oats.

Keep the eggs at room temperature. It will make beating egg whites easier.

Before baking:

Preheat oven at 350ºF. Oil twelve-muffin pans, dust lightly with flour and set aside

Mix together ground oats and almond flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.

Drain the dates, reserve the water, and whisk the dates with an electric beater. Gradually add the water, followed by oil and beat a little after each addition. Separate the egg yolks from the whites and add them one at a time to the date mixture along with the banana pieces. Beat until smooth.

Add the salt to the whites and beat with clean whisks until soft peaks are formed. With a spatula fold the whites into the date mixture alternating with apricots. Using an ice-cream scoop, transfer the mixture into prepared muffin pans and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Insert a thin wooden toothpick after 15 minutes. A dry toothpick means muffins are done. If not, then bake further for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Slide a thin plastic knife around each muffin to separate it from the sides.
Place in a serving platter and serve immediately.

For freezing: Cool the muffins completely. Place in freezer bags and freeze. They will be good for several weeks. Microwave each for thirty seconds before eating.