BAKE: Date Walnut Whole Grain Muffin Recipe
- Date Walnut Muffin Ingredients
- How to Make Date Walnut Whole Grain Muffins
- Date Walnut Whole Grain Muffins
This quick date walnut muffin recipe makes a healthy breakfast treat to start your day off right. Now that’s something to crow about! They’re also a sensible sweet snack or lunch-box filler for yourself or your kids.
There’s very little refined sugar in this recipe, but you won’t miss it as they’re packed with dates that are naturally sweet and make these muffins moist and filling.
These hearty date muffins have a hint of warm cardamom and cinnamon spice, and a light nutty crunch from the chopped walnuts. They’re made with a blend of whole wheat and all purpose flour for a hearty muffin that is dense but not tough and still super delicious!
Date Walnut Muffin Ingredients
flour:
I like to use a 50/50 blend of whole wheat and all purpose flour in these muffins. This gives you the whole grain goodness of the wheat flour, while making sure your muffins are still tender with a soft crumb.
butter:
The butter adds rich flavor, and helps make these muffins super moist and soft. You could substitute coconut oil or vegan shortening if you are avoiding animal products or can’t have dairy, but this will change the flavor and your final results.
milk:
I use regular whole milk in these muffins. You can substitute lower fat or non-dairy milk if you prefer, but results may vary. The recipe was only tested with whole regular milk.
egg:
The egg adds protein, moisture, and helps with the crumb structure in these muffins. It’s a binder that helps the batter and the finished muffins stay together. You could try an egg-substitute to make these vegan, but I have not tested this, so your results will vary!
dates:
You can use whole or chopped dates. Make sure you check the dates for pits or pieces of them, and if you use whole dates, you’ll need to slice or roughly chop them into bite-sized pieces.
nuts:
I like chopped walnuts in these muffins, but you can substitute other nuts if you want to mix things up. You can use raw or toasted nuts.
sugar:
There’s only a small amount of sugar in these muffins. Most of the sweetness comes from the dates, but there is a bit of regular sugar that helps with the flavor and texture of the muffin batter. Without it, the muffins would be dry and bland, so don’t leave it out!
other ingredients:
These muffins use a combination of baking powder and baking soda for leavening, which react with the wet ingredients to make the muffins rise. They’re spiced with ground cinnamon and cardamom.
How to Make Date Walnut Whole Grain Muffins
prep muffin ingredients:
- Preheat your oven to 400℉.
- Prepare a muffin tin with paper or silicone liners, or butter or spray the tin well so the muffins don’t stick.
- Measure and mix dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
- Melt one stick of butter on low heat in a small skillet or a microwave safe container.
mix date muffin batter:
- Mix wet ingredients in a large measuring cup or small bowl, and add to the bowl of dry ingredients.
- Mix all together gently but thoroughly, folding up from the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients. Just gently stir to combine.
- You don’t want lumps of dry ingredients to remain. Don’t over-mix though, as this can lead to tough muffins or tunneling and large holes in the crumb.
scoop muffins:
- Using a portion scoop, small ladle, or measuring cup, portion out the batter into among your muffin tins.
- This will be about ½-⅔ cup per muffin for standard size muffins.
bake the muffins:
- Bake the muffins in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes (less for mini muffins, longer for jumbo muffins).
- Test the muffins with a skewer inserted in the center of the muffins. They are done when the skewer comes out clean or with crumbs instead of batter clinging to it.
Date Walnut Whole Grain Muffins
Equipment
- 12 silicone muffin cups (or nonstick muffin pans) (substitute: butter & flour regular muffin tin, or use paper liners with baking spray)
- 1 mixing bowl
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon ground
- ½ tsp cardamom ground
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 cup dates chopped and pitted
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup milk whole is best, but substitute if you like
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400℉. Prepare a muffin tin with paper or silicone liners, or butter or spray the tin well so the muffins don't stick.
- Measure and mix dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Melt one stick of butter on low heat in a small skillet or a microwave safe container.
- Mix wet ingredients in a large measuring cup or small bowl, and add to the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix all together gently but thoroughly, folding up from the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients. You don't want lumps of dry ingredients to remain. Don't overmix though, as this can lead to tough muffins or tunneling and large holes in the crumb. Just gently stir to combine.
- Using a portion scoop, small ladle, or measuring cup, portion out the batter into among your muffin tins. This will be about ½-⅔ cup per muffin.
- Bake the muffins in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes (less for mini muffins, longer for jumbo muffins) or until a skewer inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.