With the Fall season here in Colorado, the Wanna Have Some Baked Goods on Hand mood sets in.
Because I happened to have some Kodiak Cakes Peanut Butter Mix in the cabinet AND wanted to try out the use of allulose in a baked good, the stars aligned for some time in the kitchen to get the baking groove going.
What’s allulose, you ask? In brief, this is one of the newer low calorie sugars that does not impact blood sugar levels like “real original sugar.” In essence, we don’t absorb the energy in allulose like we do from cane sugar.
Don’t be alarmed. Allulose is not FrankenFood - it is found naturally in several plants. It can be an option for those who want to move away from the artificial sweeteners and also reap a natural sweet flavor. And there’s no aftertaste like there is with many of the other sweeteners!
Why bother with a sugar that is not like the real sugar, you wonder? First of all, I know I’m not alone when it comes to a love of baking. Secondly, there is way too much sugar in most recipes for traditional baked goods. A quick internet search for “peanut butter muffins” comes up with about 3/4 cup of sugar in a typical recipe (yowza). Third, if we can make lower sugar varieties of baked goods that taste yummy, then why not? Of course, all calories matter (no matter whether from sugar or fat), but we can do our part to lower our sugar affinity and make more nutritious goodies. Fourth, experiments are fun, yes?
Recipe Ingredients:
Yield: 16 muffins
2 cups of Kodiak Cakes Peanut Butter mix (~135 grams)
~40 grams of protein from a chocolate whey isolate protein powder (I used 2 full scoops or about 70 grams by weight of Thorne’s powder)
2 Tbsp raw cacao powder
2 Tbsp allulose (~20 grams; I used the Wholesome brand)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c liquid egg whites (115 grams)
2 medium bananas, mashed
1 c Ripple unsweetened milk (240 ml; you can use any milk, but this was is non-dairy and has added pea protein)
1/2 c natural peanut butter (125 grams)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation Steps:
Heat oven to 350F. Spray or coat muffin pans with preferred oil of choice.
Whisk together the Kodiak mix, protein powder, cacao, allulose, baking powder, salt in large bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, being mindful not to overmix. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups (about 3/4 full) and bake for ~30-40 minutes or until done. I live at 8600 feet, so it took about 50 minutes baking time.
Basic nutrition info (per muffin):
153 calories
15.5 grams carbohydrate (2.5 gm fiber, 5 gm sugar)
10.5 grams protein
5.5 grams fat
1.5:1 ratio of carb:pro
The texture was good, there was no aftertaste, and the peanut butter chocolate was not overbearing. This is a great snack option when you want (need?) a baked good, but you could also have with breakfast or before a workout.
If you like to bake and you bake for others who could benefit from fewer calories from added sugar (which is most of this country, I would contend), then I encourage you to take steps towards recipe modification. We can have our cake and eat it too. So to speak.
Tag me on social if you try this recipe or let me know how you’ve used allulose in other recipes by providing your comments.
-Dina