Welcome to Medicinal Muffins, part 2, I’m literally bloated with snack ideas.
What I find to be outlandish is that with this recipe and our other medicinal muffin using the he shou wu, the herbs made them better-tasting. It’s like, the muffin was good (but “meh” to me because when I bake I spilt into three people, Cinderella, and the two old men from the Muppet’s… and maybe a little Bruce Lee too)- okay, so despite the animal I become in the kitchen, once I added the chaga to icing, I was like “OOOOOOH SNAP.”
I’ll be the first to say just eat the treat and take your herbs later, but real talk- he shou wu and chaga so far have made the desserts taste BETTER. I would prefer the herbed icings over the plain any day, so in my eyes, why the duck not!? I think only certain herbs work. Reishi extract, for instance, may be a little on the bitter side, but… the spore oil though… hmm.
Chaga, on the other hand, now CHAGA… this. I am speechless with boundless satisfaction on how well it melded with the chocolate, vanilla, and peanut-butter. I mean, it actually emBOSSed the peanut-butter flavor. I am not surprised, in hindsight. Chaga has naturally occurring vanillin, which is the same jazz in vanilla bean, and I mean, really tastes far-from-fungus, especially when combined with something sweet. What was more astounding was how chaga actually made it more peanut-buttery, which I personally felt like it fell short of initially and was planning on shaming my icing publicly.
Baking loves cold. Pie crusts, cookies, icings galore, all take very kindly to the cold. If your legs go numb and you can see your breath in your own kitchen, then welcome to the extreme baking league. Otherwise, the colder seasons are ideal for baking. I actually just haven’t gotten my boiler serviced yet, so… anyway, turn on some Bowie, and get bakin’.
So let’s outline the glorious health benefits that come with these bad boys.
- Gluten Free
- Refined Sugar-Free
- Good Fats
- Protein
- Fiber-packed
- Anti-inflammatory
- Anti-Oxident
- Immune-boosting
- Easy, fun, and good for everyone!
Coconut flour has been my current muse. One reason, being it’s what I have right now and since you only use about 1/2 cup (tops) per recipe, one tin of this stuff goes a long way. That is a great reason alone to fool around with it. It’s like the blob, just consuming all liquids. I’d like to see just how far I can push it one day, I’m pretty sure coconut flour would win over a gallon of water. It literally absorbs all, as I can only be like it one day. Such a studious little flour.
Another reason I’m in love with the coco is because it’s just so nutritious. It may not be as sultry and rich as almond, or as classical as wheat or spelt, or as exotic as acorn, but it’s got soul. I mean, low-carb (easy to digest), high-fiber (do YOU LIKE TO POOP?? if so, this is your jam), and it’s quite tasty. Coconut flour is a super fiber. It displays it’s prowess in the bowl, only using so little of itself to accommodate all of those liquids, but it essentially has the same act within. One of these puppies will have you feeling pretty satiated, and instead of gross fats or carbs, you’re full of insanely wonderful fiber and whatever vibrance that you put in with it. In this case, great fats, protein, and CHAGA!
I want to jump on the table at this cafe and do 13 star jumps as I compliment every person in this room… to dubstep.
Okay, so chaga. gaga. Lady Chaga. lol.
Chaga is INCREDIBLE. It’s basically my favourite herb of all time. Let’s shoot some chaga bullets right quick then we’ll get on with the recipe.
- One of the most powerful anti-oxidents on the planet.
- Incredible anti-inflammatory
- Awesome adaptogen
- Immune-boost (lvl up big time)
- Anti-aging
- Nutrient-dense
- Blood-cleansing
- Therapeutically tasty in peanut-butter icing. #health
To learn more about chaga, visit: https://hyperion-herbs.myshopify.com/products/chaga-mushroom-extract-4-oz
Okay. So here’s the scoop. I am going to share my recipe with you, what I did. But here’s what I think. I think you don’t have to use 6 eggs, and the icing may have been a little sweet for my taste. So if you like sweet and have half a dozen eggs to get down with, just follow along with me. If not, I will share a recipe for the muffins that use half the eggs and no oil on the bottom. And just add the sweetener to the icing as you please if you’re more sensitive to sweet. I do hope you enjoy. My taste-testers’ responses for these muffins were wide eyes and orgasmic “Mmmm mmmHHmm’s!” They didn’t even know they were consuming 20,000 active units of SOD. TAKE THAT HEALTH IN YO FACE!
Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Muffins:
Dry Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Coconut Flour
- 6 Tablespoons Unsweetened baking cocoa
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Moist Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup liquid coconut oil or organic palm shortening
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar
- 6 eggs
- …. and 1/4 cup (or more) of chocolate chips (I like Enjoy Life minis)
Peanut-Butter Cream Icing feat. CHAGA
- 3/4 cup organic palm shortening
- 1 cup peanut-butter
- 2/3 cup raw honey or grade B maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 5 Tablespoons Arrowroot powder
- 4 teaspoons coconut flour
- 3 Tablespoons chilled coconut cream (scoops off the top of the can)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon Chaga extract per serving (for 10 cupcakes you’d use 5 teaspoons but you may end up with extra icing so I suggest adding the chaga by portion to avoid wasting your extract, so 1/4-1/2 teaspoon for a medicinal amount per cupcake)
Top these bad boys with some salt too- it really takes it.. over the top. yes. I used black lava salt, but a sea salt, pink himalayan, or other fancy (not iodized) salt will do fine just fine.
Directions (MUFFIN):
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line your muffin pan with your muffin undies (or if you have that silicone jaun nay worries)
- Add all dry ingredients together. Make sure to go through them with a fork, as coconut flour likes to clump.
- Add all liquid ingredients together. Give them a nice blend.
- Combine dry and liquids.
- Add the eggs in as you blend, two at a time.
- Add your chocolate chips.
- Fill your muffin cups up with the mix. Again, because it is coconut flour, you’re going to have a thicker mix than traditional cake batter. This is okay. It’s the blob. Spoon it in- you should get about 10-11 muffs. Then, what I like to do, is get a cup of water and a spoon. Then smooth out the tops with the round part of a spoon. Not necessary, but it is nice, especially if you’re not icing them.
- Bake for 22 minute or so.
- Let these mothers cool for at least 10 minutes before going HAM. It takes time for coconut flour to redistribute moisture. You definitely want to have them fully cooled before icing.
Directions ICING:
- Add your honey, peanut butter, vanilla, and palm shortening together in a bowl.
- Whip it!
- Put together the salt, arrowroot, and coconut flour, and slowly fold that in and give it a good blend.
- Once you have it where you want it, add the coconut cream and whip it GOOD!
- I put a layer of crunchy fresh ground peanut butter on the cake before the icing. (if you love it like I love it).
- After thats all done, you have your icing base. What I did, was batch it out into a small bowl on the side, and added my desired chaga. Then, I had two icings, and had fun playing around with putting them both in my piper and getting a marble effect. But you can proceed here with your own creative prowess. Just spoon it on however you please.
- Top with salt.
- Eat, share, and be full.
Alternative Muffin with less egg and no oil (fluffier maybe):
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon BS (lol baking soda lol)
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
So, that’s it, really. If you have any questions/comments about substitutions or alternatives for diet restrictions, please send me an email at info@hyperionherbs.com. Also, I want to thank Urban Poser and Comfy Belly food blogs for being my muses, Love you all. Enjoy, eat well, and have fun nourishing your soul with the creation and consumption of these lovely little numbers. Be patient with yourself when experimenting with new ingredients and alternative baking- they really weren’t meant to look perfect. Please let me know if you’ve tried it out, I would love to hear your feedback <3.
xx Brianna