Vegan Morning Glory Muffins

Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:

• Flour - Spelt is used in the original recipe so it's naturally what I've used here. The nutty flavor is perfect. All-purpose, wholewheat, or white wholewheat also work well but make sure to take note of the varying amounts needed in the written recipe. A good gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour that contains xanthan gum will also work.
• Sugar - Dark brown sugar gives these muffins a lovely depth of flavor AND it is acidic so it reacts with the baking soda to create more lift. I don't recommend using an alternative here because other sugars (or artificial sweetener) are not as acidic which means your muffins will not turn out as light and they will not rise as much.
• Baking soda & baking powder - Both are necessary in this recipe for lightness and a good rise.
• Oil - Any neutral liquid oil will work. If you want to make them oil-free replace the oil with the same amount of nut or seed butter and add 2 tablespoons of extra milk. I recommend blending it up with the milk before you begin because otherwise, it can be difficult to get it mixed in well.
• Spices - I used cinnamon and ginger because that's what is in the Whole Foods version of this muffin, but you can use any other spice that you enjoy. Allspice, pumpkin spice, apple pie spice, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, etc would all work well.
• Carrot - I love the goodness carrot adds as well as the orange flecky appearance it gives the batter. You could switch it for grated apple, grated sweet potato, or grated zucchini.
• Banana - Despite there being a lot of banana in these muffins they aren't overly banana-y (in case that's something that bothers you). You could however switch the mashed banana for pumpkin puree. Possibly applesauce too but I haven't tried it.
• Mix-ins - We've got oats, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, millet, shredded coconut, cornmeal, and flax (whole or ground) going in because that's what's used in the muffins I'm replicating. As long as you use roughly the same amount of mix-ins you can switch them for anything else you like. Dried fruits like raisins, sultanas, cranberries, chopped apricots, chopped nuts, seeds like sesame, hemp, buckwheat, flaked quinoa, or even chocolate/carob chips would be good. It's a great recipe for finishing up open bags in the pantry!

Can't wait to make them? Here's a quick visual walkthrough (see the recipe card and recipe video for the full and detailed version):

1 - First soak the dates in hot water for about 15 minutes then chop them up. The soaking softens them up and makes them nice and caramel-y.

2 - Mash the banana.

3 - To the banana add the chopped dates, all the other wet ingredients, sugar, and spices. Mix well.

4 - Then add the flour, raising agents, and mix-ins. Stir to form a thick, gloriously textured batter. Don't over-mix.

5 - Scoop the batter into a greased or lined muffin pan. I recommend using an ice cream scoop so the top of the muffin batter is nicely domed in the pan. I used 2 scoops in each well, one on top of the other. Although these muffins rise and expand as they bake, their general shape tends to stay the same so if they go in nicely domed they'll come out nicely domed.

6 - Bake, and be sure to take note of my initial 5-minute high-temperature trick. Don't skip it!