Whole Wheat Cardamom Spice Muffins

By Nisha Vedi Pawar

Menu planning during the holidays can get overwhelming and with so many guests and so many dishes it can be easy to forget about breakfast and snack items. In our house 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. On big family holidays my Mom and I try to serve lighter foods such as fresh fruit, cereal, toasts or muffins for breakfast so that everyone still has room for “the big meal”.

As we generally stick to traditional Thanksgiving menu items like pies, mashed potatoes, turkey and vegetable casseroles, these cardamom spice muffins add a South Asian touch to the menu. The muffins are wholesome, moist and smell like the holidays when baking in the oven because of the cinnamon and nutmeg.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, 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 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 to grab a hold of and just enough sweetness when my husband is craving something sweet.

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.

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. Enjoy!

Serving Size: 12 regular size muffins or 24 mini muffins

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