Matcha muffins with a melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin seed butter heart {vegan}

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Let’s start off with a compromise: let’s all pretend these muffins are actually green. Thank you! I’ve made them three times, to perfect the recipe, and let me just say these are the greenest I could do without using white sugar and AP flour. I don’t mind about the color – I mean they taste amazing nonetheless – it’s just that I really wanted to post them today in honor of St. Patty’s Day, that’s coming up in a few days, and you know what I mean…!

Regardless of the color, these muffins are bomb, if you ask me. When I was a little kid I used to hate that green tea ice cream I’d get at Chinese restaurants because it was too bitter for my young taste but now I love it and often make myself an unsweetened matcha latte in the morning. You can of course omit the seed butter here, if you’d like, but you may want to add a tiny bit more of sugar. Personally I like them like this but I also don’t like sugary desserts…

About the butter: I’d never really given much credit to pumpkin seeds, I mean they’re ok, I eat about a handful of them once every few months but nothing special, I just simply forget about them. But once I thought about making a butter out of them..and boy, was that a good idea! I high-fived myself for that. I would suggest not omitting the pinch of vanilla, salt and cocoa butter. You won’t regret it!!

Happy muffins to you 🙂

p.s. the color in the photos changes depending on the light and on the nearby objects but I promise they’re the same muffins! They are a greenish brown.

MATCHA MUFFINS WITH A MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH PUMPKIN SEED BUTTER HEART {vegan}
by Marta Giaccone

Recipe
yields 10 muffins + ½ cup pumpkin seed butter
prep time: 15 mins, cook time: 20 mins, total time: 35 mins

Muffins
1 cup / 160 gr flour (I used a mix of oat and light spelt)
1 tbsp / 5 gr matcha
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
pinch salt
½ cup / 95 gr light brown sugar
1 cup / 250 ml plant-based milk
3 tbsp / 45 ml light oil (I used organic cold-pressed sunflower)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375°F/180°C.
2. Sift and combine all dry ingredients.
3. Add milk and oil and mix well.
4. Add approx 1 + ½ tbsp to each of 10 muffin liners/tin wells, then about 1 tsp pumpkin seed butter (see recipe below), then one more tbsp of muffin batter.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean (turn tin around after the first 10 minutes for more uniform results).

Pumpkin seed butter
1 cup / 150 gr pumpkin seeds
pinch salt
pinch vanilla
(optional: 1 tsp light oil, I used cocoa butter)

Method

1. Dry toast seeds in a skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until you start hearing a faint popping sound. Go easy with the toasting, as they will burn quickly!

2. Spread seeds out onto a flat surface (such as a wooden/marble chopping board), let cool for a few minutes, then add to a food processor.
3. Blend until the seeds turn into a smooth paste. Don’t worry, you’ll get there! I can’t remember exactly how long mine took but under 10 minutes. If you, like me, don’t have a powerful blender, feel free to add 1 tsp of oil at the end, when your paste looks like it’ll never be super smooth. Add vanilla and salt and pulse to combine.
4. This butter will keep at room temperature or in the fridge, in a sealed glass container, for up to several weeks or months if frozen.