You know what is really cool? When you accidentally develop a really AWESOME recipe and you weren’t even trying to. You know, when you are out of an ingredient and you have to get creative and use an alternative ingredient, then it turns out being better than the original recipe. THAT is so cool!
So I was minding my own business, just trying to make my kids some banana muffins for a snack. But lo and behold we were out of milk. Ok, no big deal really. I had some coconut milk left over from a vegan cake order I just finished. That’ should be just as good for muffins, right? So I go about my business and start mixing things up when WHAM! Oh crud I’m out of vegetable oil too… BOO!
Well, that is when my brain kicked in and a little voice said “you know, mayonnaise is made of mostly oil and eggs”. Ok, let’s give it a shot. Not much to loose at this point because I already have a bunch of stuff mixed together. And of course I have seen cake recipes with mayonnaise as an ingredient, so I was pretty sure it would be fine. I though I might get a weird texture or something but I knew the kids wouldn’t care about that.
BUT, it was so much better than the original recipe! The whole family was like “man, those are really great muffins!”. I mean, they always like my muffins but usually it’s more like; me: “how were the muffins?” family: “they were good, thanks.” Definite difference in the reaction department.
I was wondering if it was just a fluke, or maybe the bananas helped do a little magic inside those muffins. So I decided to try again with the coconut milk and mayonnaise but this time I did an apple spice muffin. And they were AWESOME!! Definitely the best muffins I have ever baked, bar none.
Coconut milk and mayonnaise are the magic ingredients for the best muffins you will ever make!
You gotta try them. SERIOUSLY the best texture and moistness I’ve ever experienced in a muffin. So good they need a special name… Magic Muffins? noooo… that sounds like something you don’t want to give your kids! Mayonnaise Muffins? Yea, that just doesn’t sound super appealing. Moist Muffins? NOPE! That’s slightly pornographic I think, yikes! Hmmm. well I am open to suggestions! Maybe I should hold a naming contest. Comment if you can think of a great name for these babies, but you should make them first, you know, for inspiration sake!
I can’t even remember where I got the original muffin recipe from It’s been so long. Definitely pre-google era (omg how is that possible?!). I have tweaked it throughout the years but I think this is the end of my experimenting. Why mess with perfection?
PRO-TIP!! When making your streusel, grate your cold butter on the corse side of a cheese grater. Works prefect!!
And don’t forget to try some of the delicious flavor options, you’re family will thank you! Then come back and tell me what flavor combo you love best.
These are blueberry banana. YUM!!!
Have a Sweet Day!!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 18 - 20 minutes |
| Servings |
muffins
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- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup mayonaise
- 1 apple peeled, cored and finely diced
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup pecans finely chopped
- 1/2 cup butter - cold coarsely grated or diced pea sized
Ingredients
Muffins
Pecan Streusel Topping
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- In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans; mix well
- Grate or dice cold butter
- Gently toss butter into dry ingredients; mixing well. Set aside
- Heat oven to 400°F. Line muffin pan with paper baking cups
- In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and salt; mix well
- Add the diced apples to the dry ingredients and mix well coating all the apple pieces in the dry mixture. This helps keep the apples from sinking to the bottom of the muffin.
- In a small bowl, combine coconut milk, mayonnaise and egg; blend well
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy)
- Fill muffin cups 3/4 full
- Sprinkle 2 heaping tablespoons of streusel topping on top of each muffin to cover the batter completely
- Bake at 400°F. for 18 - 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean
- Cool 1 minute before removing from pan
- Fresh Berry or Fruit muffins ~ Omit the cinnamon, spices and apples and add your favorite fresh berry or fruit. Blueberry, diced strawberries, raspberries, diced peaches. The possibilities are endless and oh so delicious!
- Lemon Zest Muffins ~ Omit the cinnamon, spices and apples and add 1 teaspoon lemon extract and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest.
- Almond Poppyseed Muffins ~ Omit the cinnamon, spices and apples and add a teaspoon of almond extract and a tablespoon of poppyseed.
- Banana Pecan Muffins ~ Omit the cinnamon, spices and apples and add 1 mashed banana to the wet ingredients and 1/2 cup chopped pecans to dry ingredients
- Chocolate Chip Muffins ~ Omit the cinnamon, spices and apples and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- Pineapple Carrot Muffins ~ Omit diced apples and add 1/2 cup grated carrot and 1/2 cup crushed pineapple well drained
The streusel topping recipe makes enough for 3 batches of muffins. It's great to have on hand anytime you make muffins, coffee cake or pies. Just put the extra in a ziplock baggie and store it in the fridge. Lasts months! It makes your next batch of muffins so quick and easy!
