September’s here bringing fall with it and with that comes cosy nights in, long walks before the nights crawl in and also makes me think of all the delcious maple, pumpkin, cinnamon treats I can make! There’s just something about autumn that makes me want to bake more and on my last time in Canada I had the best maple and pecan muffin which I’ve been meaning to make since then so what better time than now?
I don’t know what it is about muffins in Canada but I can just never get enough of eating them. I remember first discovering whole foods on my first trip there and seeing this counter full of huge muffins and once I tried one I pretty much got into the habit of having one a day. I also put on a stone. Ah well totally worth it.
With this recipe I was looking for healthier alternatives to the maple and pecan muffin as quite often they can be very sugary and sweet and so I tried a few different things such as reducing the amount of sugar and butter. To be honest the look of them did not come out how I had planned – they were slightly on the pale side but taste wise they are pretty darn tasty!
Maple and Pecan Muffins
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 120g pecan nuts plus 12 extra for topping
- 80g salted butter
- 160ml milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 240g plain flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- A pinch of salt, optional
- 180ml maple syrup
- 100g caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/ 338°F fan oven, 180°C/ 350°F, or gas mark 4.
- Roughly chop the pecan nuts, leaving 12 for the toppings and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a microwave (20 seconds at a time) or in a small saucepan. Once melted leave aside to cool down.
- Put the milk in a jug and squeeze in the lemon juice. Don’t mix together, just leave it to be and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add the plain flour, baking powder, caster sugar, a pinch of salt, maple syrup, cooled melted butter, and eggs.
- Using a handheld or electric mixer, beat the ingredients together until you get a nice thick and smooth batter. Add the milk and mix for one more minute.
- Fold the chopped pecans into the batter and scoop the batter into muffin cases.
- Bake your muffins in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until they are golden brown and firm to the touch.
- Leave the muffins for about 2-3 minutes before you serve them warm, or you can transfer them onto a cooling rack.
