Greek Yogurt and Date Muffins

I’m just gonna say it: I love muffins. Muffins sometimes are the reason my daughter gets to school on time with a full belly, and they probably take the least amount of work in the baking world - you don’t even have to mix them until they’re smooth! While on a muffin-baking binge to send along with my husband to work, I asked my daughter what kind of muffins she wanted. In a rare moment of 6-year old open-mindedness, she said, “you choose.” Whaaaaaaat?! Date muffins it is! What I love most about date muffins is that you get all the benefits of having probiotics from the yogurt and prebiotics from the dates. Prebiotics can be such a nightmare to get into our diets, but dates are a delicious way to get it done! You also can switch this recipe up by changing the fruit, if dates aren’t quite to your taste, are hard to find, or are too expensive where you live. You can also change this to whichever yogurt you’re currently making - it’s a very flexible recipe!

Here is what you’ll need:

• 1 cup Greek yogurt

• 1 large egg

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (feel free to sub in olive, or whatever unsaturated oil you prefer)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams, 8.47 ounces)

• 1-2 tablespoons sugar (I like vanilla or orange sugar here)

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom (optional, but really kicks it up a notch!) or cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 cup chopped dates

Now let’s prepare the batter!

Pro-tip: most people hold onto their baking powder for a long time, and it can get clumpy. Grab a tiny strainer and put the powder in there, then sift it in so you don’t risk disgusting clumps of baking powder in your muffins! This has happened to me before, and it’s not pretty.

Whisk together the yogurt, egg, and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Next, dump everything but the dates into the mix (no need to dirty a second bowl to mix these together first unless you love doing dishes!) and whisk or stir it in. It doesn’t need to be smooth, and it’s okay if there are lumps. Mixing this way is called “the muffin method.” Stir in your dates.

BAKE TIME!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (200C or Gas Mark 6). Oil your standard-size muffin pan, then spoon the mixture into each muffin cup until it’s about 2/3-3/4 full. Bake 20-25 minutes (your ovens may vary, based on calibration). Test the largest muffin with a toothpick, skewer, or cake tester at 20 minutes. If there’s nothing stuck to it, it’s done. If there’s still some batter on your tester, bake a bit longer (up to 5 more minutes, but test every 2 because no one likes a dry muffin). Let cool on rack, then nom! These will keep up to three days, but they are best the first day!