Chai Muffins with Pistachios + White Chocolate

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I hope you had yesterday off, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Let’s talk muffins. And life. Let’s talk muffins and life.

Life: So as you know, I have been on a much less frequent posting schedule lately. I’ve explained in the past few weeks that moving was happening and food making was not. Then I told you about my job. And while I am not working full-time, I am still trying to find my footing. I’m still figuring out when is the best time to make things to share with you.

And, I want to say thank you, to you, because even with less-than-usual posting, August was the best month ever for The Dreaming Foodie! I’ve had more views in August than in any other month before. Every single person – thank you so very much for reading!

I’m proud of August. The recipes I’ve shared with you this month are some of the best ever, in my opinion. There were only seven. Yes, seven recipes this entire month, but I’m totally in love with every single one. The month started with su per simple and delicious homemade almond joys. With a recipe like that to start, I should have known that this would be a good month. Also, if you missed any from this month, check out:

Corn Soup
Barbecue Lentil Burgers
Spinach + Feta Braid
Cacio e Pepe with Roasted Butternut Squash
Smoked Salmon Quiche
One Pot Fajita Pasta

So, from here I am going to try to continue to bring you recipes to be totally in love with. I’m going for 100% quality over quantity, even if it means only posting twice a week.

Like I’ve said before, thank you for bearing with me. 🙂

Now, onto muffins!

I could not be happier to start this month with these muffins!

I tested, tested, tested this recipe to get it just right. After one too many muffin fails in the past months, I wanted to go into this one completely prepared and set up for success.

Let me tell you about it. I saw a little girl at market one day with a pistachio muffin. I was instantly intrigued. I love pistachios. And, I love pistachio ice cream. Since I was working and unable to get a muffin of my own, I knew I wanted to try my hand at pistachio muffins.

I started brainstorming and searching the internet and saw that Cooking Light did a pistachio-chai muffin. Okay, that was my new plan. Chai muffins with pistachios. And then I decided to add white chocolate. Because chocolate is never a bad idea.

Okay, so I had my flavors. Chai, pistachio, white chocolate. I then moved on to making the muffin itself the best it could be.

I researched. I made decisions. I didn’t want my muffin to be overly sweet, so decided to use minimal sugar. I figured out baking soda/powder amounts that would produce a good rise/neutralize the acid in my muffin. I decided to use buttermilk instead of regular since I love the taste of buttermilk. I decided to use butter as my fat over oil (never go wrong with butter!). I decided to pulse some oats and add them to the dry part of the batter to add some texture.

I took notes. I researched more. I wrote down tips: a thick/lumpy batter is what you’re looking for, make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. And I finally had a recipe. My first trial turned out pretty darn good. I was so excited. The work I put into the recipe paid off, it was not another added to the list of muffin disasters.

I tasted the muffin, I took notes on what I wanted to improve. And I preformed trial 2. Then trial 3. Trial 3 is what you see in the photos and the recipe I’m sharing with you today.

This muffin is lightly spiced with chai tea bags. Chai is a flavor combo of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper and cloves. Most people are familiar with chai lattes. Chai works just as well in baked goods. In addition to having wonderful flavor, these muffins are soft and fluffy.

The pistachio and white chocolate flavors work wonderfully with the chai. They add a crunch and sweetness that will be hard to resist.

These muffins are layered: chai batter, pistachio/white chocolate mixture, and then repeated. The layering is a great way to incorporate texture/flavor though the entire muffin.

Although this is not a completely traditional muffin, I hope that you give it a try. 🙂

Chai Muffins with Pistachios + White Chocolate

2013-08-30 10:09:47

Yields 9

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Ingredients

1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 chai tea bags
5 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup pistachios, shelled
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
Small drizzle coconut oil or water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375*. Prepare a muffin pan with 9 muffins liners, lightly sprayed.
Start by prepping some of the ingredients. Add the 1/2 cup oats to a food processor and pulse until the oats are a coarse meal (see photo above). Remove from the processor and set aside.
Add the pistachios and white chocolate chips to the food processor. Process, with a small drizzle of oil or water, until they have become a coarse meal (see photo above). Remove from processor and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, processed oats, baking powder, soda, salt and chai tea. Mix with a whisk. Set aside.
In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg whites and mix well, until pale and creamy. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix until just incorporated.
Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry one and using a spoon, mix until just combined.
Using a mini ice cream scoop (or a spoon), place one scoop of batter into each prepared muffin liner.
Layer one heaping teaspoon of the pistachio/white chocolate mixture on top of the batter.
Top that with one more scoop of batter, followed by a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the pistachio/white chocolate mixture.
Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy!