Chai Tea Muffins!

Hello readers! It’s amazing how things change so fast. Last month I couldn't post for The Recipe Redux since I was in the middle of final exams and going a bit crazy. In fact, I didn't post anything on the blog for about 2 weeks. One of the things I appreciate about being a student is vacation. Now, I have all the free time in the world, which I’ve been appreciating and using the best way I can. 

So, for this month’s secret theme -Cooking with Tea- I took the time to find something original to do. About this time last year I made a delicious iced tea with a friend but I didn’t feel like doing something similar again. After thinking about it for a little while I chose Chai Tea Muffins. I’m glad I did because I love the soft flavor of chai tea you get with each bite!

What I like about muffins in general is that they can easily be converted into a healthier option. Also, I love that there are many way’s to eat them. I like to crumble them on top of Greek yogurt, have them with a side of fruits and sometimes I spread some peanut butter on them. Now that I’m training for a 10K race, I love having healthy snacks in the house to eat pre or post running.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! 

Serves 10, ready in 40 minutes

Ingredients:

Muffins:

-1 cup whole wheat flour

-1 cup oat flour (I made mine by blending oats)

-2 tsp of baking powder

-1/2 tsp of baking soda

-1/3 tsp of salt


-1/2 cup of brown sugar


-1/4 cup of olive oil


-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract


-1 1/4 cup of milk (I used 1%)


-4 Chai Tea bags


-2 eggs


-3/4 cup of chopped walnuts

Frosting:

-4 tablespoons light cream cheese

-1 teaspoon brown sugar

-1 tablespoon of the milk-tea mixture

-Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Kitchin-it!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 muffin tin with 10 liners



2. In a small saucepan, add the milk and bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat off and add the tea bags

3. After about 5 minutes, squeeze out the tea bags and discard them. Take 1 tablespoon of the milk-tea mixture and put it aside for later use in the frosting.



4. In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 



5. In a small bowl, add the walnuts and 2 tablespoons of the dry ingredients, mix a little to make sure walnuts are all coated with the dry mixture. 



6. In another large bowl, using a hand held electric mixer, whisk together the sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla extract.

7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and continue to mix with your mixer. While mixing, add in the chai tea milk mixture. Add in the walnuts and mix just until they are evenly distributed. 



8. Fill in the lined muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. 



For the frosting: 


-In a small bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, sugar, the milk-tea tablespoon and lemon juice. Mix until thick and refrigerate for about 10 minutes



-Drizzle over each muffin and enjoy! 

Adapted from Laura in the Kitchen

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