Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Pistachio-Chai Muffins

This recipe was featured in the latest issue of Cooking Light (in fact they had a whole section on muffins).  The recipe directs you to open up two bags of chai tea and dump it into your muffin batter.  I thought it sounded a little odd, but I'll try anything once.  




They turned out pretty good, not overly sweet at all.  Would be absolutely perfect with a spot 'o tea.



Here's the recipe, the only thing I did differently was add a wee bit of cinnamon. 


Ingredients
  • 7 9/10 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 3/4 cups)
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 chai blend tea bags, opened
  • 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • Cooking spray
  • 1/3 cup shelled dry-roasted pistachios, chopped
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
Preparation
  • 1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  • 2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut open tea bags; add tea to flour mixture, stirring well. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and egg in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
  • 3. Place 12 muffin-cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle nuts evenly over batter. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.
  • 4. Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, powdered sugar, and 1 tablespoon water, stirring until smooth.  Drizzle over muffins.  

*according to Cooking Light, these only have 192 calories and 6.2 grams of fat, if you care about such things.

On a side note, I used the Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken Breast Strips that I received as a part of Foodbuzz's Tastemaker program.  I used them to make a quick and easy chicken fajita quesadilla for dinner last night.  

this pic came from my cell phone since I had let my other camera die


It really was easy, and I like the idea of having chicken already cooked, sliced, and ready to go.  Certainly simplifies things when you're trying to get dinner on the table in time to watch Dancing With the Stars :)  (I was particularly impressed with Romeo last night...I loved his dance with chelsie)

23 comments:

♥peachkins♥ said...

Those muffins look fantastic!



Peachkins at The Peach Kitchen

Anonymous said...

Wow Julie, your muffins look amazing! Love that first pic especially. And a great way to use extra buttermilk that I always seem to have floating around in my fridge......

Kim said...

Yes, Romeo did a great job last night. It was my favorite dance of the night. These muffins look killer. Love the idea of adding chai tea. I'm also a big fan of pistachios and love the fact that I'm seeing lots of recipes for them lately.

La Bella Cooks said...

The chai is a brilliant flavor addition. I definitely would love to try these.

teresa said...

i remember seeing these in CL, they look awesome!

The JR said...

that does sound a little weird adding tea bags....

The Blonde Duck said...

If I wasn't having quesdillas tonight, I'd be super jealous.

Monica H said...

I'm not a big tea drinker, but I love the way chai smells. I bet theese were really nice.

Quesadillas look good too!

Karen said...

I would love these muffins - chai is such a comforting flavor to me.

Reeni said...

I know I would love these! I always have chai in the house - love the combo with pistachios. So scrumptious.

Pam said...

These muffins look and sound absolutely amazing.

Barbara Bakes said...

The little drizzle on top looks so pretty!

Leslie said...

I saw these too! I raised my brow at the thought of dumping tea into the batter!

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

That is odd with the tea, but they sure do look tasty!

Hope you have a beautiful weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

The Blonde Duck said...

I hope you had a good Easter!

Velva said...

Or a "Spot of coffee" (smile)...I saw the recipe in Cooking Light too. Like the idea.

Velva

Tiffanee said...

Oh send me a few!! I love the chai taste. These look delicious!!

Julie said...

I somehow doubt the sincerity of that last comment :D

Susan at www.ugogrrl.com said...

I love Chai Tea and pistachio - they look delightful. I may have to give these a try!

Susan www.ugogrrl.com

grace said...

hooray! pistachios are so underused, and i'm just thrilled to see them in combination with my favorite spices! lovely muffins indeed.

grace said...

hooray! pistachios are so underused, and i'm just thrilled to see them in combination with my favorite spices! lovely muffins indeed.

grace said...

hooray! pistachios are so underused, and i'm just thrilled to see them in combination with my favorite spices! lovely muffins indeed.

Ali said...

I love both pistachio and chai flavors. This sounds really delicious.

One idea that popped into my head when I read this post was if you enjoyed the chai you might try making a chocolate chai muffin. I use to make chocolate chai latte's at work. The sweetness of the chocolate and the spiciness of the chai is really nice together.