Chunky Monkey Muffins

We’ve found the cure for the vast divide that keeps us all up at night. The politics of food are finally solved. These chocolate muffins are vegan AND paleo with an option for tree-nut free too!  Well, we’re not even sure they’re muffins. I mean, it’s fruit-sweetened without frosting so it’s not a cupcake. And it’s got the texture of a brownie. But it’s healthy enough from being sweetened only with fruit to be snuck for breakfast. Pay no attention to the aptness of this sweet treat’s name… focus on the simplicity and how delicious it is!

These “muffins” are egg-free, dairy-free (vegan), grain-free (gluten-free), refined sugar-free, and an option for tree-nut free too! Somehow we were magically able to recreate a brownie texture without any eggs.  We’re not what I’d call skilled at vegan baking, in fact we rather love baking with eggs.  But, we know that quite a few children have an intolerance to them – so we wanted to offer a recipe that’d work without needing any substitutions.  We don’t know how we did it, but we try not to question these things.

These fun, simple and delicious treats are made even more fantastic by their “choose your own adventure” ending. Pictured below is a vanilla version we served for a dinner party we had last week, then just yesterday we served a chocolate version for our Paleo Halloween Potluck (post coming). Each time, they disappeared QUICKLY. So, let your bananas get mushy and get your baking on!

Chunky Monkey Muffins

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas
1  C dates*
1/2 C roasted creamy almond butter (use MaraNatha brand sunflower seed butter to make these nut-free)
1/2 C coconut flour
1/4 C coconut oil, liquified
1/4 C palm shortening
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla

Here’s where you choose your own adventure, for the last ingredient you must decide the flavor you’d like! To the mixture add one of the following:
2 Tbsp Tapioca Flour (vanilla based muffins)
2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (chocolate based muffins)

Topping (Optional):

1/2 C dark chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. ♥ In a food processor, puree together the dates and bananas until smooth
2. ♥ Add remaining ingredients to food processor and pulse until a thick batter forms (scrape sides to fully incorporate but do not over blend)
3. ♥ Spoon into lined muffin tin, filling cups 2/3 full
4. ♥ Toss topping ingredients together in small bowl, sprinkle on top of each muffin and press gently to get them to “stick”
5. ♥ Bake at 350 degrees for 16 – 18 minutes

*We prefer fresh medjool dates (usually found in the refrigerated produce section of the grocery store). We pit them ourselves and use them directly. If you are unable to find them (or find the cost too prohibitive) you can acquire a similar texture by re-hydrating dehydrated dates. Simply cover with boiling water for ten minutes, drain and use as instructed.

Don’t forget to let your kids help with the easy steps (♥). Sometimes cooking with kids can be a challenge sometimes. Finian poured in an entire ramekin of salt to our original batch (on accident) and although incredibly frustrating, it was a great learning lesson for us all. There are always teaching moments in the kitchen!

As a reminder, we’ve got two giveaways going on this week:

1. A $50 Wildtree Giveaway, and
2. A Tropical Traditions Raw Honey Giveaway

Make sure you comment on those posts to enter – and thanking the sponsors by following, liking and purchasing from them is always appreciated!

If you like our recipes and site, would you mind voting for us in the Circle of Mom’s Top Allergen Blog contest?  We’d love to represent Paleo as a great choice for families with allergies, with the hopes that some children may even heal their guts and find health into their long lives!  See all of the awesome nominated blogs at Circle of Moms.

About Stacy

Stacy Toth has written 310 post in this blog.

Stacy is the matriarch of the Paleo Parents family. After beginning a paleo diet and founding PaleoParents.com in 2010, she lost 135 pounds and found health and happiness for the whole family. The following three years have been a progressive journey with a mission to educate people about nourishing their bodies by eating real foods. Stacy can be found on all forms of social media as @PaleoParents as well as the top-rated The Paleo View Podcast and her two cookbooks, Eat Like a Dinosaur and Beyond Bacon.

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