Makes 12 muffins
THIS WAS the very first recipe I created at my bakery, Jennifer’s Way. It was the night before we were due to open our doors and I was beyond nervous and overwhelmed, to say the very least. I had been an actress for 20 years, and now I was opening a bakery with no business experience and no professional baking experience, using only my own personal recipes I made for myself and my friends. What was I thinking! Was I scared? Yeah, you could say that. To calm my jitters, I decided to go to the bakery by myself and quietly bake something special. I remember thinking, “Do something simple, but with a hint of something different. You’re a baker now.” When these babies started rising in the oven, I knew everything was going to be OK. The scent is pure magic. Warm, inviting, flavorful, and just the confidence boost I needed that night. I hope they can boost your confidence, too, in whatever you dare to do.
2 cups Jennifer’s Way Bakery All-Purpose Flour Mix (purchased or here)
½ cup maple sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, or evaporated cane juice
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon Himalayan salt
1 cup puréed peaches, mangoes, or pineapple; or 1 ripe banana, mashed
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
⅓ cup grape seed oil or olive oil
½ teaspoon ground vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract)
¾ cup rice milk, coconut milk, or any other additive-free, unsweetened nondairy milk
1 pear, peeled, cored, and diced
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients (through salt). In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine the fruit purée, applesauce, oil, and vanilla. Set the mixer to medium speed and slowly add the dry ingredients while alternating with the milk. Mix for a minute until everything is incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and slowly fold in the pear.
Scoop the batter into the liners and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Serve immediately, or store into an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.