Welcome, Fall!

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by Hannah (BitterSweet)
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Perhaps I’m jumping the gun a bit, but an undeniable chill has blown in, and now that it’s September, I can’t contain my excitement for fall any longer. There are just so many things to eat, every day of autumnal weather must be used to the fullest! Unfortunately, my enthusiasm is a bit premature, as it still isn’t quite cold enough to layer on the heavy winter blanket, a mistake I paid for at 4 am, waking up in a pool of my own sweat.

Summer may still be hanging on with a loosening grip, but the kids are returning to school and the evenings are no longer quite so sweltering at least, so I’m fully prepared to embrace the incoming season. How better to get into a fall state of mind than bake something with sweet, warming spices?

Falling back on my favorite set of chai spices, a simple sort of muffin seemed to be in order. Perfect for a quick morning breakfast should you be one of those lucky students returning to an earlier schedule, each hearty little quick bread is both a sensible breakfast or snack. Spelt flour adds in a good dose of whole grains, hazelnuts provide a spot of protein, and these babies are only modestly sweetened.

I happened to be lucky enough to find the persimmon pulp in my freezer, stored from last year’s bounty, but any other fruit pulp would work beautifully as well.

No Persimmon? No Problem!

To keep with the autumnal theme, I might suggest:

  • Unsweetened apple sauce
  • Pumpkin puree
  • Mashed butternut squash
  • Sweet potato puree

For a delicious change of pace, you could also try:

  • Mashed banana
  • Cooked, blended carrots
  • Vegan yogurt

So don’t wait any longer- Greet the incoming season now, and enjoy it with muffins!

Yield: Makes 6 Big Muffins

Chai Latte Persimmon Muffins

Chai Latte Persimmon Muffins

For a spicy, seasonal, and healthy breakfast or snack, look no further than these persimmon muffins. Spelt flour adds in a good dose of whole grains, hazelnuts provide a spot of protein, and these babies are only modestly sweetened. Most importantly though, they're positively crave-worth flavor is off the charts!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Persimmon Pulp (Approximately 2 Hachiya Persimmons)
  • 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Packed
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 1/2 Cups Spelt Flour
  • 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Chopped Hazelnuts
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 3/4 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
  • 6 Teaspoons Granulated Sugar, for Topping (Optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and lightly grease 6 standard muffin tins.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the persimmon pulp, oil, vinegar, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth and homogeneous. In a separate bowl, combine the spelt and all purpose flour, hazelnuts, baking soda, coffee powder, spices, and salt, and mix thoroughly so that the ingredients are well distributed. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir just enough to bring the two together, being careful not to over do it and create gluten- A few errant lumps in the batter are just fine.
  3. Evenly distribute the batter between your prepared muffin tins, and really mound it up in the center for each muffin. It may seem like a lot, but don’t be shy and really pile it on. This will get you nice, big, mushroom-y tops. Sprinkle each raw muffin with 1 teaspoon of sugar, if desired.
  4. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out clean. Let rest for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

No Persimmon? No Problem!

To keep with the autumnal theme, I might suggest:

  • Unsweetened apple sauce
  • Pumpkin puree
  • Mashed butternut squash
  • Sweet potato puree

For a delicious change of pace, you could also try:

  • Mashed banana
  • Cooked, blended carrots
  • Vegan yogurt

Recommended Products

Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I have experience with all of these companies and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 373Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 235mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 7gSugar: 22gProtein: 8g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: American / Category: Quick Breads and Muffins

 

50 thoughts on “Welcome, Fall!”

  3. i’m exiting for the fall caming, too. These muffins look very yummy, i hope to find some persimmons soon to try them
    kisses
    fra

  6. Those sound perfect for fall! It’s getting cold here so I bet baking those muffins would be the perfect way to warm up. Thanks for the recipe!

  7. This is my absolute favorite time of year, and baking is always high on my agenda during the fall. These muffins sound delicious – I love the idea of using fruit puree/pulp rather than oil or butter to add moisture. Lovely!

  8. I’m right there with you – I can’t wait for fall! I love the warm spices, the crisp cool mornings, and especially things like apple pie :) Someday I’ll find persimmons so I can try them, because this sounds wonderful.

  10. Mmm, sweetly-spiced baked good (or in this case, breakfasts) are some of my favorite, and fall is the best time to enjoy them. Cooler temperatures in Austin mean 95 instead of 105, but we’re getting closer to fall!

  13. it’s gotten much cooler here already too, and i am LOVING it! your muffins sound awesome…we had a persimmon tree in our front yard growing up and no one ever knew what to do with the fruit. wish my mom had had this recipe back then!

  14. Holy whoa, I LOVE your cup/saucer set! Is that vintage?
    Great idea, by the way. I busted out with some chai this morning to help buffer this unexpected September chill!

  16. I have some carrot pulp in the freezer and it’s just begging to be used! I’m loving the newly cool weather because I can finally bake again.

  19. i cant wait to jump back into baking! i feel so unmotivated in the summer time.. but this morning, when i pulled out my winter boots (!!!!) i wanted to bake some cookies before work.. unreal. maybe i will this weekend!

  20. Hannah,
    We’ve got access to persimmons, but how on earth do you successfully get the pulp out? There’s so many seeds, our last try was a sticky mess that didn’t really yield much pulp.

  24. Please dont bring fall upon us to quickly! Although, if I can get some of those muffins, you can have whatever season you want.

  27. Oh Yum!! I can’t wait to make warm comfort food again! SC is still sweltering although last night the temp. came down a bit. It seems to come later here… *sigh*

  28. I love chai anything and these muffins look delightful!!!! I too am so excited about fall…and I think these would be the perfect little treats to make to welcome the season!

  29. What an adorable perfectly shaped little muffin! Love the touch of sugar on the top. I love fall and am looking forward to it but I’m really going to miss the summer fruits and cheap summer vegetables!

  33. What a great muffin to bring in the fall with!! All things chai seem to be circling the blogsphere!! I think it may be my turn soon! These just look delicous!

  36. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Fall. I wait it with open arms this year, it has been a really hot summer.

    I hope I don’t miss persimons this year, last year I waited too long to buy them and when I was ready to bake some persimons goods, persimons were not ready for me to buy them. :-(((

    I’ll keep this recipe as gold.

  38. Enjoy your fall! I just say hello to spring :)

    This muffins sound great. We still have persimmon around, but not as good as a month ago. But I can always use other fruits, right?

  43. fall is my favorite season, but i’m not quite ready for it as we missed out on a lot of summer! these sound fabulous, and maybe in a few weeks i’ll give in :)

  46. I love Fall and Persimmon season. They are so affordable by the case in China Town. I am the only one that will eat it though, so it’s a lot for me to go through a box.

  49. This recipe didn’t work for me. The batter was way too dry. I salvaged it by adding a beaten egg and two more cups of persimmons. Did anyone else try the recipe?

    I’m looking for a spicy, healthy persimmon muffin recipe.

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