Eggless but Excellent Muffin Recipes

Feb. 23 is National Muffin Day. While it may seem like a superficial celebration, the holiday has compassionate origins. It was established in 2014 by bakers Jacob Kaufman and Julia Levy to support homeless people, according to CNN.

Kaufman and Levy match donations to various charities for every photo of homemade muffins shared with the hashtag #GiveMuffins. This year’s donations will reach people impacted by the fires in Los Angeles and Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, according to the National Muffin Day Facebook page.

Most muffin recipes require eggs, but given nationwide shortages, limits on egg cartons and a new strain of avian flu, these recipes use simple, cheaper substitutes. Each recipe makes 12 small muffins.

Banana Chocolate Chip

Plain Greek yogurt is useful because other kinds of yogurt aren’t firm enough to mimic eggs and flavored yogurt adds too much sweetness. Yogurt also has a lot of moisture, so this recipe uses less milk.

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup vegetable oil

¾ cup milk

2 mushy bananas (the darker the better)

½ cup plain Greek yogurt (about one plastic serving)

½ cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In another bowl, mash the bananas until smooth and add in the Greek yogurt, vegetable oil and milk. Fold in the sugar a bit at a time, mixing well each time.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the large bowl and briefly mix. Add the chocolate chips and briefly mix again — overmixing will make the texture gummy.
5. Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake for 30 minutes.

Ginger Apple

Granny Smiths may taste too tart, while softer varieties like Macintoshes turn mushy while baking. Good baking apples for this recipe would be Pink Ladies, Honeycrisps and Red Delicious (the kind found in Loyola’s dining halls).

2 apples, washed and chopped into small cubes

4 oz unsweetened applesauce (one plastic cup)

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the applesauce and brown sugar until uniform. Add the oil and milk, mix it well and then add it to the dry ingredients.
4. If the dough is too thin, add more flour. If the dough is too thick, add more milk. Once the consistency’s right, add the chopped apples and mix until they’re spread throughout the batter.
5. Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake for 30 minutes.

Chai Chia

While this doesn’t replicate authentic chai — for that, visit a cafe in Little India down Devon Avenue —  it is an alternative, cheap recipe. The chai packets can be substituted with regular black tea bags as long as the flour is mixed with a few teaspoons each of allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk

2 bagged chai packets

1 tablespoon chia seeds

3 tablespoons water

1. In a small bowl, mix the chia seeds and water. Cover and let set for at least five minutes until it’s gelatinous, forming what’s called a chia egg.
2. While that’s setting, microwave the milk for two minutes. Add the chai bags and steep for two to three minutes.
3. In a bowl, mix the oil and sugar until uniform, then fold in the chia egg. Stir in the steeped chai.
4. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
5. In a larger bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. If you have cinnamon on hand, add a hearty dash of that, too.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix. Only stir it a few times, until doughy, as overmixing will make the muffins gelatinous.
7. Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake for 30 minutes.

Spiced Sweet Potato

While commonly thought of as fall vegetables, sweet potatoes are harvested year-round and even get cheaper by the end of winter. Canned sweet potato puree could work, but if it’s sweetened or labeled as candied yams, reduce the sugar by at least half.

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Wash the sweet potatoes, poke holes in them with a fork and wrap in tin foil. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until tender.
2. Let the sweet potatoes cool for about 10 minutes then mash until smooth.
3. Preheat the oven again, this time to 350° F.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
5. In another bowl, mix the oil, sugar, mashed sweet potatoes and milk. Once thoroughly combined, add to the dry ingredients until no flour streaks are visible.
6. Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake for 30 minutes.