Nut "Pulp" Muffins (Wheat-Free, Vegan)

Whether you have leftover nut "pulp" from making nut "milk", or you just want to use your favorite nut flour(s), these muffins are moist, portable & nutrient-dense! A great way to have zero waste if you make homemade nut "milk".

I typically use 1 cup of organic, raw nuts (almond &/or macadamia) + 9 cups purified water to make nut milk. 1 batch of nut milk yields about 1/2 cup packed macadamia nut pulp or about 3/4 cup packed almond pulp. Refrigerate or freeze the pulp until you are ready to make muffins. If you don't have nut pulp leftover from nut milk, you can simply use your favorite nut flour(s) instead. But I find that the nut pulp makes for extra moist muffins.

These muffins are perfect as a make-ahead food that you can keep in your freezer and use for on-the-go nutrition. As with most whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) recipes, you will need a high-shear blender like a VitaMix in order to puree the soaked/softened cashews. Instead of the fat sources being from processed oils or animal-derived butter, the fat sources used in these muffins are from whole, plant foods like cashews, flax seeds, chia seeds & almonds/macadamia nuts. Ground organic flax seeds + water are used as to functionally replace eggs & enhance the nutrient-density of the muffins.

The low-glycemic, natural sweetener used is birch xylitol, which is not a whole food, but it is plant-derived & has 40% fewer calories than sucrose/sugar. Xylitol has minimal impact on insulin and blood-sugar levels and is often used as a sugar alternative for diabetics. You can use a whole food sweetener instead such as organic dates (paste, powder or syrup), but you'll have to adjust the water in the formula/recipe accordingly.

Ingredients:

1 cup Cashews, raw, soaked/softened*

1 cup Oat Flour*

1 cup birch Xylitol, granulated

1/2 -3/4 cup Nut "Pulp"* (leftover from 1 cup of nuts used for nut "milk") or 1.5 cups nut flour*

3/4 cup water, purified

1 cup Rolled Oats, whole-grain, gluten-free*

1/2-3/4 cup dried fruit (raisins, currants etc.)*

1/4 cup Flax Seed, ground*

1 TB Flax Seed, ground + 3 TB Water, purified (egg-replacer)

2 TB Chia Seeds*

1.25 TB Apple Cider Vinegar*

1.5 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt, pink

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract*

Optional Toppings:

~ 1 TB Rolled Oats, whole-grain, gluten-free*

~ 1.25 TB Chia Seeds*

*Note: Organic

Instructions:

1) Soak Cashews in hot, purified water while you weigh-out the rest of the ingredients.

2) Pre-heat oven to 375F & adjust rack to lower-middle position

4) Combine the following dry-ingredients together in a large bowl: oat flour, xylitol, nut pulp (or nut flour), oats, 1/4 cup flax, dried fruit, baking soda, 2 TB chia seeds & salt

5) Drain the cashew water {water a plant once water cools! :)}

6) Using a VitaMix-type blender, pulverize the following until buttermilk-like consistency (& flavor) is achieved: soaked/softened cashews, water, apple cider vinegar, 1 TB flax.

7) Transfer buttermilk-type liquid from blender to the large bowl of dry ingredients and add vanilla extract. Fold the batter until just combined. It should be sticky and thick.

8) Put parchment muffin cups (I like "If You Care" brand) into a metal muffin pan & fill each muffin cup with ~1/4 cup batter. I use a spoon and 1/4 cup measuring cup to distribute the batter into each cup.

9) Top each with chia seeds & oats if desired & gently pat the toppings so they adhere to the batter.

10) Bake for ~ 21 minutes

11) Cool on cooling rack, enjoy &/or store frozen in a reusable freezer-storage bag.

Yield:

~ 11 muffins if using macadamia nut pulp

or

~12 muffins if using almond pulp or nut flour(s)