Flourless Cherry Plantain Muffins

I've been in a bit of a cooking rut lately. Luckily, these cherry plantain muffins happened and I finally have a new recipe to share!

It should be no surprise that I have yet another plantain recipe to share. I'm going to guess about 40% of my recipes use plantains in some way. Okay, that's a big percentage...maybe not that much. But still. The point is - I love plantains.

When I buy plantains, I tend to buy a lot. Like, anywhere between 6 and a dozen at a time. In Fargo, ND, you can't always expect to find certain things in the produce aisle, and plantains are one of those things. To top it off, the only grocery stores that carry them lately are the stores I don't typically shop at, so I have to go out of my way to track down plantains.

So when I get them, I get a bunch.

And then I experiment.

In this case, I bought plantains after a long, grueling sinus infection. I'd spent a full week and a half basically useless. I spent my days lying on the couch, watching Netflix and pitifully trying to blow my nose and relieve some of the pressure in my sinuses. It wasn't a fun time. Even after I was starting to feel better, I devoted most of my time to rest & relaxation sessions. I was feeling uninspired in general, so I stuck with reading and Netflix. No desire to experiment in the kitchen. No desire to practice photography.

I just did some existing.

After weeks of lazing about, I started kitchen experiments again...and these cherry plantain muffins were born. Cue inspirational music.

What I love about these muffins is that they're entirely flourless and they use ingredients I typically already have on hand. The only strange ingredient is the plantains themselves and maybe the freeze-dried cherries, but you could use any berry in place of them! Other than those two ingredients, you just need eggs, ghee (or butter), baking soda, dates and vanilla. Easy peasy.

Now keep in mind, these muffins aren't terribly sweet. They're muffins, for f's sake, not cupcakes. So if you're looking for something laced with sugar, look elsewhere. I like my muffins (and most baked goods for that matter) without a lot of sweetener. That's what the dates are for in this recipe - just a touch of sweetness, but not too much.

Well, if they aren't sweet, what do you use them for?! I'll tell ya. Breakfast: Slice a warm plantain muffin in half, slather with warm ghee, enjoy with a cup of coffee, eggs, bacon. Mid-morning or afternoon snack (with coffee). Post-workout (plantains = carbs, which are essential post-workout).

Not every baked good has to be sweet. That's my life motto. Er...not really. I have better life mottos than that. But still, it's a good thing to keep in mind when you're making paleo baked goods. Does it have to be sweet? Is the sweetness just covering up the wonderful flavors already present? If it has to be sweet for you to enjoy it, do you think that maybe you need to face your sugar dragon at some point?

Asking the hard questions today, apparently.

[PIN IT!]

The point is, these muffins aren't that sweet. You also have to be cautious of them in the oven, because baking them just a little too long can dry them out something fierce. So keep a close eye on them and try not to over-bake. Also, you're amazing. Has anyone told you that today? I thought I'd just sneak that in there in case you haven't heard it. Or maybe complimenting random internet folk is a sign I should step away from the keyboard.

Cherry Plantain Muffins

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 23 minutes
• Total Time: 28 minutes
• Yield: 12 muffins 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: baked

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Description

Paleo and flourless, these cherry plantain muffins are quick and easy to bake up. A perfect companion at breakfast or a quick snack!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 large yellow-green plantains
• 10 medjool dates, pitted
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup melted ghee
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ cup freeze dried tart cherries

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel the plantains and add them to a high-powered blender along with the dates and eggs. Blend until completely smooth.
3. Add ghee, vanilla, salt and baking soda to the blender and blend for a few seconds to incorporate.
4. Fold in the freeze-dried cherries. (No need to take the batter out of the blender, but don't blend the cherries in! Stir with a spoon or spatula.)
5. Pour batter into lined muffin tins, filling about ⅔ full. The batter is quite thick, so you may need to spoon it in. Bake for 20-23 minutes.

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Keywords: Cherry Plantain Muffins