Sweet n’ Tart Rhubarb Muffins

It was not my original intention to share this recipe on the blog.

I’m actually not the kind of person who follows a lot of recipes. Rather, I create things in the kitchen based on my cravings and nutritional needs. Sometimes I just can’t find a recipe that uses all the ingredients I want, or is healthy enough, or has the certain flavour or texture I’m after.

I had a bunch of my mom’s home-grown rhubarb leftover after making the Strawberry Rhubarb Galettes last week. My original intention was to make sugary rhubarb muffins with a streusel topping. But then, my freezer ran out of Pumpkin Protein Cream Cheese Muffins, and I found myself missing my favourite mid-morning office snack.

Thus, these non-sugary, non-streusely muffins were born. I needed a healthy snack that would take me to lunchtime, not a dessert to give me a tummy ache.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unflavoured soy protein powder**
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 10 stevia packets (equal to 6 tbsp + 2 tsp sugar)
• 1/4 cup oil (I use coconut)
• 1 cup flavoured yogurt (I used peach, it was a good choice)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 cups rhubarb, chopped into small pieces
• milk, as needed

**Soy protein works as a flour replacement here, meaning the recipe will work just as well with 2 1/2 cups of flour. If you go the protein route, I find soy or pea powder work best in baked goods. Unless you’ve had success with whey before, I find a lot of brands turn baked goods hard and squeaky.

Directions:

Mix flour, protein powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together sugar, stevia, oil, yogurt, vanilla, and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Slowly add milk until you have a thick batter, then stir in rhubarb. Bake for 25 minutes in a 350F oven.

Yields 30 mini muffins, or probably 12 regular muffins if you own a regular muffin pan. I (still) don’t.

The end result was a surprisingly sweet spiced muffin, with a hit of tart rhubarb in every other bite. There may be no sugary streusel, but I now realize it’s a shame to mask the taste of rhubarb with sugar. I absolutely love these muffins just the way they are. A perfect example of a happy kitchen accident. It’s why I just had to share it with you!