Spiced Sweet Potato Molasses Muffins

I feel like I am getting my little winter nest ready...I have been baking up a storm! I guess it is my way of slowing down and taking a bit of time for myself and family. I love being in the kitchen and getting my creative juices flowing, and these muffins are a perfect morning treat! They are packed with wholesome ingredients like sweet potato molasses (yay for iron!), whole wheat flour, and warming spices, they feel more like dessert and less like a hearty breakfast. I took the suggestion of  Andrea Bemis of Dishing Up The Dirt and smothered these muffins with a maple-cashew cream frosting.

The first time I made these muffins I didn't have any almond milk, but I did have some Coconut Milk Holiday Nog, and so I used that as my liquid for the muffins AND the Maple Cashew Frosting. 
These might just be my favorite muffins to have on rotation this winter! And pretty soon I will know if they are husband/boyfriend/girlfriend/partner/neighbor approved. 
Stay tuned on my instastory and social media.  

I had a little extra maple cashew cream frosting and it even tastes great on toast or used as a dip for sliced apples or strawberries. It is amazing and I'm sure you will find other used for it aside from smothering on muffins or cupcakes! 

Pour a cup of coffee, whip up a batch of these muffins and enjoy spending some quality time in your kitchen this December! 

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Makes approx. 12 muffins

Ingredients: 

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes 
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp.  baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or date syrup) 
• 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
• 1/4 cup walnut oil (or other neutral tasting light oil)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Note: Rather than use all of the spices individually (if you don't have them all),
I have used pumpkin pie spice, and then added the allspice + a little extra cinnamon) and the muffins have still tasted great. They are hard to mess up! 

Maple Cashew Frosting

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted (or coconut butter if you are in a pinch)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 1/8 tsp. fine sea salt 
• 1/4 cup almond milk

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan cover the sliced potatoes to cover them by at least 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and place them in a food processor or Vitamix/Blendtec and process until completely smooth and creamy. Measure out 1 cup of puree and set it aside (save any leftover puree for another use).  
3. In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside. 
4. In a smaller bowl vigorously whisk together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar and let the mixture rest for 5 minutes (this will create a dairy free buttermilk). (It even worked just fine when I used the Holiday Nog). Whisk in the eggs, freshly grated ginger, maple syrup, molasses, oil, vanilla, extract and sweet potato puree. Mix until everything is well combined. pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tin and bake in the oven until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of a muffin, about 20-22 minutes. 
5. While the muffins bake prepare the frosting. Drain the soaked cashews and place them in the bowl of a food processor with the remainder of the ingredients and process until completely smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the processor as needed. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
6. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before gently removing them to completely cool before adding the cashew cream.  

Coach Notes: Store any leftover cashew cream in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days * keep the muffins at room temperature covered for 3 days. 

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