Sweet Potato Corn Muffins

Post by Olivia Blodgett, Registered Dietitian

This is one of the first recipes I remember learning how to make in my Whole Foods Cooking Class at Bastyr University when I was in my grad program. It’s adapted from a recipe in a book called Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair, who was my teacher. I remember being shocked that you could produce a sweet product without the typical addition of white sugar. The natural sweetness of the sweet potato combined with a small amount of maple syrup yielded a perfectly moist muffin with just the perfect amount of sweetness. I have since adapted the recipe to replace the maple with dates blended in water, for a recipe that is truly void of any added simple sugars. It’s a pretty versatile recipe, any flour and type of winter squash would work well!

Sweet Potato Corn Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1 1/2 cups whole grain flour (I use whole wheat or spelt)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp dulse flakes or ground seaweed (totally optional for added iron.. this book was geared towards vegetarian kids and families)

2 cups cooked sweet potato, pumpkin or winter squash

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup medjool dates, pitted

3/4 cup water

Preparation

1. Soak dates in water for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 and grease muffin cups.
2. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Blend dates and water together in the food processor until a smooth paste is formed. Scrape the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula a few times throughout the blending. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and blend to combine.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until no dry flour remains. Spoon into 12 muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes.