The Great Muffin Experiment, No. 9 (Jump to the Recipe)

One of the reasons that I started this muffin experiment was to try to get away from the protein bar fare that relies so heavily on protein powders — whey, egg white, pea, collagen or otherwise. Every morning, I do drink a smoothie that includes whey protein powder. But I've found that if I drink that and eat a protein bar, my stomach isn't at all pleased.

It's a challenge some days to hit my protein consumption goals, particularly on days when I'm not eating meat — something I plan to do more of in the new year. As such, I wanted to experiment with higher protein content ingredients in my muffins — higher protein flours or fats, for example — to see if I could replace the ol' protein bar as a pre- or post-workout meal. That said, protein bars contain a lot of protein — about 20 grams — and that's hard to achieve with just almond flour and almond butter (or the like). Frankly, it's hard to even come close.

So far, I've avoided adding protein powder to any of my recipes as the quick fix for boosting their protein levels. I'm not a fan of some of the popular "healthy" websites that are really centered on baking with supplements — sponsored content, I imagine. That said, I am weighing starting to add protein to my recipes — although it'll likely be collagen as 1) it's what I have in the pantry, 2) I don't want to overdo it on the whey, and 3) collagen doesn't dramatically change the texture of the baked good. Collagen is not a complete protein, of course. But I'm less concerned about that as I'm not relying on it as my sole source of protein.

Protein Pumpkin Muffins with Pumpkin Seed Butter

This is based on the recipe for gluten-free, paleo pumpkin protein muffins on the Gluten Free Paleo website.

Prep time: 45 minutes  ·  Cooking time: 20 minutes  ·  Servings: 12  ·  Calories: 108

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c pumpkin seed butter (or 2 c pepitas if making butter from scratch)
• 1/4 c almond flour
• 1 medium banana
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs collagen peptides
• 2 tbs maple syrup
• 2 tbs coconut flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. To make the pumpkin seed butter, roast 2 cups of pepitas in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow them to cool, then grind them in a food processor for about 15 minutes until they become butter. (After the five-minute mark, you'll start to see the shift from crumbs to paste.) Salt to taste.
2. Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tins with paper liners.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, spices, salt).
4. In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk until blended. (You can use a food processor for this step. But, as always, be careful about overmixing your muffin batter.)
5. Pour the dry mixture into the dry mixture and stir just until combined.
6. Fill muffin tins.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
8. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes, then remove from muffin tins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Some Baking Notes

The original recipe calls for almond butter, but I decided to try making pumpkin seed butter for this version. Pumpkin seed butter is quite comparable to almond butter in terms of protein, fat, and carb content. I was a bit worried that the green color of the pepitas — and hence, the green color of the butter — would mar the look of the muffin. But I used a batch of some really beautiful homemade butternut squash puree that was a vibrant orange, and the color of the muffins turned out fine. The pumpkin seed butter — which I forgot to salt, oops — was quite nutty, and I've been enjoying a tablespoon of it in my morning smoothies this week.

If I were to make these again, I would probably make 8-9 muffins rather than 12 as they're quite small. I also followed the original recipe's instruction to use a blender to mix the batter, something I won't do again as I think it leads to overmixing. But otherwise, this is a great recipe. Does it give me the 20 grams of protein of a protein bar? No. But does it wreck my innards like an overdoes of whey does? No! (Of course, collagen peptides to give some folks gastrointestinal distress, so your mileage may vary.)

Two tablespoons of collagen doesn't really add that much protein to a muffin, but I probably will start incorporating it into some of my future recipes.