chocolate rum muffins

This recipe makes 16 muffins, so if you don't have two muffin tins, you might want to cut it in half. Although I have no idea how to measure 1/6 cup of something; hopefully you're smarter than me!

The below recipe has been edited to take into account one eagle-eyed reader's astute observation about salt!



In a bowl, mix (or sift, if you're not lazy!) together
1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder

In a separate bowl, whisk together
9 oz. okara
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup rum
3/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
until well emulsified.

Pour liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until "just mixed." Then fold in
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Divide batter evenly into 16 wells of lightly oiled muffin pans. Bake at
325 degrees Fahrenheit
for 23-25 minutes. Allow to cool for at least a few minutes before removing from pan.

apple muffins

These muffins are kinda bland. I think the spices should be at least doubled, and maybe other things, like cloves and ginger, should be added. The reason I'm putting this recipe up as-is is because I doubt I'll make it again, as I'm not a huge apple fan in the first place, and I think it's a good template anyway. Amp up the spices, add some sugar if you like sweet muffins (these aren't very sweet either), and maybe double the nuts as well. If you have success, please share your methods in the comments! Your fellow apple lovers will thank you.



In a bowl, mix together
1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 Tablespoon corn starch
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/3 cup soy milk
1/4 cup apple juice concentrate (let it thaw first, of course)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons okara
until well incorporated.

Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until "just mixed." Then fold in
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped finely (peeled first if desired)
1/3 cup chopped pecans
and stir until evenly distributed.



Divide batter evenly into the 12 wells of a lightly oiled muffin pan. Bake at
350 degrees Fahrenheit
for 24 minutes. Allow to cool for at least a few minutes before removing from pan.

Verdict: The person I live with didn't think these were bland at all. For my part, I was able to "dress them up" by cutting them in half and spreading some apple butter on each side! Much better.

I still think the nuts should be at least doubled. The only reason I put in 1/3 cup is because it occurred to me that I had an opportunity to use up some pecans, and that just so happened to be the amount I had to finish off.

lemon poppy seed muffins

I like these better than the lemon poppy seed muffins I made a few years ago, and found them to be the exact right amount of tart ... though you might want to add more sugar if you have a serious sweet tooth. Additionally, if you are juicing fresh lemons, you can zest one of them first and add that to the batter as well.

Also, this yields a total of 16 muffins, so if you don't have more than one muffin pan, you might consider cutting this recipe in half. If you do that, remember that half of 3/4 cup is 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons.



In a bowl, combine
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
and stir until well mixed.

In a separate bowl, whisk together
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup okara
until oil is emulsified.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a spoon until just mixed. Distribute the batter into 16 wells of two regular-sized muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 21 minutes. Allow to cool for at least a few minutes before removing from pan.

cranberry okara muffins (with optional chocolate!)

I had some leftover cranberry sauce, so I made a half-recipe of muffins ... But it turned out to make eight muffins, so that's really a three-quarters recipe.

You can make these delicious muffins for breakfast, or if you want some seasonal dessert muffins, throw in some chocolate chips for extra yumminess!


This is what they look like with the optional chocolate chips.

In a bowl, mix until thoroughly incorporated:
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup okara
2 Tablespoons canola oil 
2 Tablespoons soymilk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. orange flavor
4 oz. cranberry sauce



In a separate bowl, mix together
3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons white whole-wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
and stir until well combined.



Add dry ingredients to cranberry mixture and stir until just mixed. If using, fold in
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Distribute batter into a lightly oiled muffin pan. This should make around eight muffins (maybe seven if you're omitting the chocolate chips).



Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 23 minutes. Allow to cool for at least a few minutes before removing from pan.


This is what they look like without chocolate chips.

Verdict: I love these. The orange flavor gives it a great boost, but if I had had an orange around I might have zested it and thrown that in and cut the orange flavor by half. It actually could have stood to be more cranberry-heavy, but I like these so much anyway that I won't complain.

cherry(-orange) muffins

These were meant to be cherry-orange muffins, but because they didn't quite have the orangey oomph! I was going for, they're merely cherry(-orange) muffins. They still taste good, though!



In a small bowl, combine
1 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tablespoon dried orange peel
1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped

NB: I used dried bing cherries.

In a larger bowl, combine
8 oz. okara
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
and whisk thoroughly.

Add the flour mixture from the first bowl to the wet ingredients in the second bowl, and mix until just combined.

Fill the cups of a lightly oiled 12-muffin tin with the batter. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.



Verdict: I liked these, but they might further benefit from one or two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Also, next time I might use orange extract to amp up the intended orange flavor. (It's also possible that these weren't as orangey as I wanted them to be because my jar of dried orange peel is quite old, and might have lost some of its potency. Your mileage may vary.)

okara blueberry-corn muffins

I like this blueberry muffin recipe much more than its predecessor. It has a much better texture, and I like that it's sweetened with maple syrup, which gives it a subtler sweetness.



In a bowl, mix together
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup corn meal
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
until ingredients are thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together
8 oz. okara (approximately 1 cup)
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup soy milk
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla
until oil has been emulsified.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine until "just mixed." Then fold in
1 cup blueberries

Fill the cups of a lightly oiled 12-muffin tin with the batter. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-27 minutes. Allow muffins to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from tin.

raspberry okara muffins

In a bowl, mix together
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans
until ingredients are thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together
8 oz. okara
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup soy milk
2 tsp. vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
2 tsp. vanilla
until oil has been emulsified.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine until "just mixed." Then fold in
6 oz. raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Fill the cups of a lightly oiled 12-muffin tin with the batter. You should have enough batter to fill each cup all the way to the top. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 28-30 minutes. Allow muffins to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from tin.



Verdict: I loved these. I like that they were sweetened with maple syrup, which is a bit more understated than cane sugar. I think I could have added more raspberries, or, if I were really nuts, I could have thrown in some chocolate chips for a dessert muffin.

okara pumpkin muffins

In a bowl, thoroughly combine
1 1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. salt

NB: I'm sure you could substitute regular flour for the soy flour. The reason I threw it in is because I have a big bag of it that I'm trying to get rid of!

In a separate bowl, combine
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup okara
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup soymilk
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons molasses
and whisk vigorously until well combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Fold in
1 cup chopped walnuts

Distribute batter evenly between the wells of a lightly oiled 12-muffin pan, filling the wells completely (there's a lot of batter!). Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from tins.



Verdict: These are great! There is way too much maple syrup though. Next time, I'll try making it with 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup, rather than with 1/4 cup.

chocolate-beet muffins

I had leftover beets, and the obvious choice was to sneak them into some chocolate muffins. This recipe is based on this chocolate-banana muffin recipe, so if you're wary of getting beets in your chocolate I highly recommend trying that one instead! (Or in addition to.)

I'm not sure whether to classify this as a dessert or not. It has a great flavor but really isn't very sweet. Next time I make it I'll add more sugar and maybe even play with some spices, but I think this is a nice recipe as is, and might be especially appealing to people who don't like super-sweet desserts or snacks.



In a bowl, mix together
1 1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
and stir until well combined.

NB: I'm sure you could use all whole-wheat pastry flour instead of a combination of that and spelt flour. The reason I threw in some spelt flour is because I happened to have 1/4 cup of it to use up!



In a blender or food processor, mix until completely pureed:
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup okara
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup soymilk
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. cooked, peeled beets
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted



Add chocolate-beet mixture to dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Distribute batter evenly between the wells of a lightly oiled 12-muffin pan. The wells will be pretty full!



Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 23 minutes. Allow to cool for at least a few minutes before removing from pan.

okara-bran muffins

Bran muffins are not usually the kind of thing that excites me in the least, but these muffins, with seasonal spices and a hint of pumpkin, are quite nice. I wonder if you could replace the pumpkin with additional okara for a straight-up bran muffin -- it seems like you could, but I haven't tried it to see how it would affect taste and texture. Maybe worth a little experimentation if you're ever in dire need of extra fiber.



In a bowl, combine
1 cup wheat bran (flakes)
1 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
and stir until ingredients are well incorporated.



In a separate bowl, combine
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup okara
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp. rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
and whisk until ingredients are combined and oil is emulsified.



Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.



Fill the wells of a lightly oiled 12-muffin pan and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 27 minutes.

blueberry-okara muffins

Update: I've since come up with a newer okara blueberry muffin recipe that I think is much better than this one. Check it out!

Half a pound of okara and a dash of corn meal -- these muffins are a pretty good complement to the rest of your breakfast. My favorite blueberry muffin recipe is still the one in Vegan With a Vengeance (I even aped the inclusion of corn meal in my own recipe), but when I have a pile of okara to use up, this will do fine.



In a small bowl, combine
1 1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup corn meal (finely ground)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

In a larger bowl, combine
8 oz. okara
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy milk
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
and stir thoroughly.



Add most of the flour mixture from the first bowl, reserving about 1/4 cup. Combine the flour mixture with the wet ingredients.

Put
1 cup blueberries
into the first bowl with the reserved flour mixture and combine until the berries are coated in flour.

Note: I like to use frozen wild blueberries, which are smaller than most blueberries sold in grocery stores and thus ideal for muffins. I buy mine from Trader Joe's.



Put the flour-coated blueberries and the rest of the flour mixture into the bowl with the rest of the wet ingredients. Combine until just mixed.

Fill the cups of a lightly oiled 12-muffin tin with the batter. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

lemon poppy seed muffins

These muffins were on the dense side, but that's not a trait I especially mind in muffins. I was quite happy with the taste -- very lemony and just sweet enough.



In a bowl, whisk together
8 oz. okara
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
zest of 2 lemons
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup water
until thoroughly combined. Add
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon, until dry ingredients are moistened and well combined.

Fill the cups of a lightly oiled 12-muffin tin with the batter. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-23 minutes.

banana-nut okara muffins

Combine the following ingredients in a bowl:
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

In a second bowl, combine the following ingredients:
6 oz. mashed ripe banana (about one large banana)
8 oz. okara
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon molasses
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Mix wet ingredients vigorously, until thoroughly incorporated. This mixture will be a deep golden color.



Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Add
1 cup chopped walnuts
and fold into the batter.

Fill the cups of a lightly oiled 12-muffin tin with the batter. You should have enough batter to fill each cup to the top. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.

amaranth corn muffins

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with oil.

Heat a small pan over the stove top and add
1/4 cup amaranth

Toast amaranth on the stove top over medium heat, stirring the grains until they turn a light golden brown and start to pop a bit. Remove from heat and set aside.



Variation: I have substituted uncooked quinoa for the amaranth, toasting it on the stove top, with interesting results. You can also omit this step completely if you don't want such fancy, grain-enhanced muffins.

Add amaranth to
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal (I prefer finely ground cornmeal)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.

In a blender, or in a bowl with a whisk, combine
8 oz. okara
3/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons canola oil

Once liquid ingredients are thoroughly mixed, pour contents of blender or bowl into dry ingredients and mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter.

Variation: For a sweeter muffin, you might want to adjust the apple-juice-to-maple-syrup ratio: half cup of apple juice (or water!), half cup of maple syrup.

Distribute the batter equally among the 12 muffin cups. (I use an ice-cream scoop to do this.) Put the muffin tin into the oven immediately and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove muffins from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes or so. Run a knife around the edges and pull muffins from the tin. These are great with Earth Balance, agave nectar (assuming you didn't opt for the full-maple variation), or hearty bean-based soups.