Hey friends!
Shall we start the week off on a yummy note?
More specifically, let’s chat about these maple cashew butter stuffed banana muffins – which are all decked out for the holidays because I simply couldn’t help myself from nabbing candy cane muffin decor. Between having a very Christmas-y weekend watching both Home Alone and Elf, plus going ice skating (more on that later this week!), along with lighting up my living room with my Christmas tree and fireplace decorations every night and playing nonstop Christmas music as of late, I’m full blown in holiday mode. I can’t get enough of it!
But back to food. For this recipe, I played around with coconut sugar for the first time with muffins. I was pleased with the result, and will be experimenting with coconut sugar more often moving forward! The muffins are stuffed with a maple syrup & cashew butter blend that is a delicious combo of sweet + salty. I also pumped up the cashew flavor by using Almond Breeze‘s new Almondmilk Cashewmilk Blend in the batter. I love anything cashew!
Not only are these muffins tasty, they’re also gluten free and vegan. At 170 calories a pop, they make for a perfectly portioned little snack.
Note that different nut butters have different levels of creaminess, and for this recipe, you’ll want to use a cashew butter that’s on the creamy side. My go-to cashew butter is Trader Joe’s brand because it’s super creamy and easy to spread around a lot on fruit, and for this recipe, its creaminess makes for a great muffin filling. What you wind up with is some warm, salty, sweet ooey gooiness in the center of the muffin. Yum!
Maple Cashew Butter Stuffed Banana Muffins [vegan + gluten free]
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats ensure they're gluten free if necessary
- 2 1/2 bananas
- 1/2 cup Almond Breeze Almondmilk Cashewmilk Blend
- 1 TBSP safflower oil vegetable oil will work too
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup creamy cashew butter
- 3/4 TSP cinnamon divided into 1/2 TSP and 1/4 TSP
- 2 1/2 TSP vanilla extract divided into 2 TSP and 1/2 TSP
- 1/2 TSP salt
- 1 TSP baking powder
- 1/2 TSP baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin cups.
- In a food processor, combine oats, banana, almond milk, safflower oil, coconut sugar, 1/2 TSP cinnamon, 2 TSP vanilla, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Pulse until well combine and mostly smooth. Set aside.
- In a small pot, combine cashew butter, maple syrup, and remaining vanilla and cinnamon over medium low heat. Allow mixture to warm until it lightly bubbles, stirring often. Remove from heat.
- Fill the muffin cups to about 1/3 of the way full. Next, evenly spoon the cashew butter mixture into the cups. Lastly, distribute the rest of the batter into the muffin cups.
- Bake for 17 minutes, or until the muffins come out clean when a toothpick is inserted into the center.
Nutrition
Tell me… Are you a cashew fan? Have you caught the holiday spirit bug, or are you being more of a Grinch?? 🙂
PS – Enter my Nektar Naturals giveaway to win a bottle of their easy pour honey crystals! The giveaway ends on Wednesday.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze Almondmilk. Enter for a chance to win the Ultimate Kitchen Prize Pack, get great savings and ideas for delicious Blendabilities at AlmondBreezeBlendabilities.com.
Britt@MyOwnBalance says
Cashews are the best. I’m so eyeing that new AlmondBreeze Cashew/Almond milk. Looks amazing! Also, let me send you my address so you can send me these adorable and yummy muffins. Haha. I kid!
Dani @ Dani California Cooks says
I love the color of these muffins!
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
I have yet to watch any Christmas movies but we did decorate our tree while making (and eating) gingerbread men and drinking hot chocolate this weekend! Elf and Home Alone shall be watched soon. 😉
I love the sound of these muffins! I just started experimenting with coconut sugar again too. I tried it a while back and was turned off but I decided to give it another chance and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. It has a nice caramel flavor that I bet tastes awesome in these muffins!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
Cashew butter is the best nut butter in my opinion and it’s nice to see cashews getting some love in blog world, rather than just peanuts and almonds.
Ashley says
I have been blasting the Christmas music lately and I love it! I need to start watching some movies now….
I love what you did with these muffins! With the cashew almond milk and the cashew butter! They sound wonderful!
Shawna says
i’ve actually never used coconut sugar, but i’d def give it a try, as i love all things coconut. these muffins look yummy! i can’t do too many nuts b/c they bother my stomach, but nut butters are okay in moderation, so these are doable. nice job!