January/February Everyday Food: Quinoa Muffins

The January/February issue of Everyday Food highlights an ingredient I’ve long been interested in: quinoa. Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is an ancient grain that has amazing health properties. It can be used in side dishes in place of ingredients such as rice. Additionally, the clever folks at Everyday Food developed a quinoa muffin. I decided to give these a try. They have a nice flavor, and an excellent texture. Instead of regular raisins, I used golden raisins. Be sure you rinse the quinoa before using (it has a bitter coating that needs to be removed under running water), and taste your quinoa before adding it to the muffin batter. I think mine was just a shade underdone, and might have benefited for a couple more minutes on the stove. The recipe does urge you not to overcook the quinoa or to use more than the required amount of water. The grains of quinoa should be tender but separate, rather than mushy and clumped together. The end result was quite tasty, and an unusual and delicious way to use quinoa.

Quinoa Muffins

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
¼ cup vegetable oil, such as safflower, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
¾ cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup raisins (substitute other chopped dried fruit, if you’d like)
¾ cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, 11 to 13 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, brush a standard 12-cup muffin pan with oil; dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, raisins, and 2 cups cooked quinoa; reserve any leftover quinoa for another use.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, milk, egg, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir until just combined; divide batter among prepared muffin cups.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.

Makes 12 muffins