Dinner – 25 minutes flat! Purchased pesto, canned clams and a spritz of lemon make…
Chia Muffins with Ginger & Lemon
The idea came about when my daughter Ariel made chia pudding then forgot to eat it and left town. Although I like a good tapioca pudding, chia pudding isn’t my thing. To save tossing it, she suggested I bake chia muffins. I searched a few chia recipes, then went into test mode:
Voila! Replacing dry chia and liquid with the chia pudding worked great. Luckily, Ariel who is not one to measure, had notes on her pudding recipe so I could duplicate her pudding and my recipe test.
Chia needs a lot of time to fully hydrate, so plan on soaking the seeds overnight – or longer as Ariel’s pudding had been refrig’d several days. Update: I recently tested soaking the chia for 30 minutes in warmed milk. It jelled nicely and I proceeded with the recipe. The results may have been a very slightly drier muffin, but still very good especially the first day or so. This muffin does dry out in a few days.
The muffins are light textured and fluffy, with a soft muffin ‘crumb’ and delightful poppyseed-like crunch from the chia. There’s less than a serving of chia per muffin but it’s still added fiber and omega 3’s, and the texture is such a winner that I can see including chia pudding in lots of other baking….did someone say bake again? ok! I think you’ll love this muffin. Let me know!
Chia Muffins with Ginger and Lemon
Chia pudding makes this a light-textured muffin with a little crunch and nutritional punch of fiber and Omega 3's. It's as yum for dessert as for a coffee/tea snack or breakfast treat!
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Chia Pudding – preferably make at least 12 hours ahead OR warm milk and let stand about 30 minutes
- 1 cup choice of milk
- 1/4 cup 48g chia seeds
- 1 tsp. honey
- 1/8 tsp. cardamom, optional
Muffin Batter
- 1/2 cup 100g granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup 56g melted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
- 1-1/2 cups plus 1Tbsp (200g) all-purpose or part whole wheat flour If cup measuring, fluff the flour then spoon into cup and level with a knife. I use 120g/cup
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup 45g finely chopped crystallized ginger
Streusel Topping – optional
- 3 Tbsp. cold butter cut into cubes
- 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp. quick or old fashioned oats
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar or raw sugar also called demerera sugar
Instructions
Chia Pudding
- Stir together the chia seed ingredients, cover and refrigerate at least 12 hours until chia is fully hydrated, and mixture is pudding-like. Stir periodically if you can, to prevent clumping. Or whisk well to make smooth after it is set.
To prepare muffin batter
- Line a muffin tin with papers or lightly grease cups. Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the chia pudding, lemon juice, and zest.
- In a separate bowl, stir together flour/s, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir into the wet mixture with the crystallized ginger. Mix just until completely combined. Scoop into prepared muffin tin. Top evenly with streusel if desired.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until muffins are golden brown and pick inserted in center comes out clean.
To prepare streusel topping
- Combine all ingredients and blend with a fork, fingers or pastry blender.
You’re a baker, that’s for sure! Now that the weather is getting cooler, I’ll be making my corn muffins etc
I’ve ALWAYS been a baker 🙂 It’s just about time for my Turkey Corn Muffins too https://www.rosemarymark.com/?s=corn+muffins
These look wonderful. I think the chia pudding would add some nice moisture to the muffins, which I need when baking up way up here in the clouds. I even have the crystallized ginger on hand!
Interesting about the altitude and connection with moisture from the chia. Let me know if you notice a difference.
I will. I often add a little Greek yogurt to baked items (except for yeasted breads). But this would be even healthier.
I can tell you’ve been tinkering to get your high-altitude recipes just right!