Dates and Walnut Muffins

Dates and walnut muffins are healthy sweet treats that you can serve your family without any guilt. These delicious and moist dates muffins studded with walnuts are egg-less, butter-less, are made from whole wheat flour and are naturally sweetened with dates, hence refined sugar-free as well. The recipe is very simple and perfect for new bees in baking. The muffins make a good tea time snack and on-the-go breakfast that can be made in advance.

My regular readers must have noticed that on alternate months I participate in the A-Z recipe challenge. It is a food-group on Facebook which is an initiative by my fellow blogger friend Jolly Makkar and Vidya Narayan. Food bloggers who wish to contribute to the theme choose key ingredients alphabetically and cook a dish with it. For this month D is the alphabet and these nutritious and yummy Dates and walnut muffins are my contribution towards the theme.

                                            

The recipe calls for soaking of pitted dates in warm milk for about 2 hours. Use soft varieties of dates as they are easy to process. Vegans may use almond milk instead. You can add dry fruits and nuts of your choice in this muffins, like almonds, cranberries, raisins or even choco chips. The muffins are mildly sweet, the way we love. If you have a sweet tooth, you may increase the number of dates or add little jaggery powder to the batter. Mashed over ripen banana can also be used in the recipe. I have tried this recipe with oats flour and wheat flour combo as well. You can add the batter to a cake pan and bake a cake instead just by increasing the baking time to 30-35 minutes.

Preparation Time: 2 hours
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients: Measurements used 1 cup = 200 ml

• 1 cup dates, pitted (around 25-30 in number)
• 1/2 cup walnut, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup cooking oil

Method:

1. Take the pitted dates in a mixing bowl. Add warm milk to it and allow it to soak for around 2 hours or until soft. After soaking time, blend this mixture to a smooth paste using a grinder jar without adding any more liquid. Also, preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Line the muffin tray with individual cupcake holders.

2. Sift the whole wheat flour with baking powder and baking soda twice in a mixing bowl. Reserve 1 tablespoon of this flour and add to the chopped walnuts. Coating the walnuts with flour ensures that it does not sink to the bottom while baking. Set the remaining dry ingredients aside until use.

3. To the dates, milk paste, add oil and blend well.

4. Add the dry ingredients to this and fold well using a spatula. Do not overbeat. Next, add the flour coated walnuts to the batter and mix. everything well.

5. Spoon out the batter into individual muffin holders. Fill the muffin liners to 3/4 th max. Tap the muffin tray 2-3 times gently on the kitchen counter to release the air bubbles and transfer to a preheated oven. Bake the muffins for 22-25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Insert a toothpick in the center of the muffin to check for the doneness. If it comes out clean, the muffins are baked perfectly. If the toothpick comes out sticky, bake the muffins further for 5 minutes and repeat the check test.

6. Allow the muffins to cool down on a wire rack before serving. The leftovers, if any can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container up to 2 days.

                                   

Recipe Notes:

• To make the muffins vegan, use plant-based milk like almond milk.
• Nuts and dry fruits of your choice can be added to this recipe.
• The muffins can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container up to 2 days.
• The muffins are mildly sweet, the way we love. If you have a sweet tooth, you may increase the number of dates or add little jaggery powder to the batter. 
• Use a soft variety of dates to make this muffin.

If you ever try this recipe, do share your feedback with us in the comment section below. 

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For more date recipes, check out the following links from my blog.

• Anjeer Khajoor Roll

                                     

• Dates Almond and Walnut Milkshake

                                     

• Sheer Khurma

                                    

• Dates and Nuts Ladoo