Sweet Potato Spiced Date Muffins
No, this isn’t a recipe for getting a hot date, sorry…instead it is a really unique combination of two ingredients not commonly found in muffins. I came across a sweet potato muffin recipe, but it called for cranberries (a definite no-no for almost all ICers!), so I played around and tried a few experiments until I devised this delicious IC friendlier recipe. Serve it to your friends and family and ask them to guess what’s in them, I doubt they’ll suspect it’s sweet potatoes which give them their depth of flavour and moistness.
Sweet Potato Spiced Date Muffins
½ cup dried, preservative free dates, cute into tiny pieces (an oiled knife makes this task easier, or use kitchen sheers)
1 cup of golden brown sugar
¼ cup of dark brown sugar
½ cup oil (I use olive oil, as it is IBS tolerated)
3 whole eggs or about ½ cup plus 1 tbsp egg whites
2 cups of cooked, peeled, mashed sweet potatoes
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour (organic and/or unbleached if possible)
½ tsp salt (optional)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger (can be omitted)
1 ½ tsp cinnamon (can be omitted)
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). In a large bowel, either by hand or with an electric mixer combine both sugars and the oil; blend until well incorporated. Stir in the sweet potatoes and eggs (or egg whites) and continue mixing until the batter is smooth (a few potato lumps are okay).
Add in all other ingredients, except the dates; combine well. Finally, add in the dates, and stir just enough to incorporate evenly throughout the batter.
Line muffin tins with paper wrappers or lightly grease to prevent sticking. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full of batter and bake for 16-20 minutes, or until slightly golden and firm, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean of any uncooked batter.
Once baked, transfer to a cooling rack or eat right away. If you like these muffins can be frosted with a simple cream cheese or icing sugar frosting, or served on their own with butter. They can be stored in an airtight container for 4 days or frozen for up to six weeks.
Yields approximately 16 muffins