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A couple weeks ago I happened to briefly mention to my mom that I had never seen The Sound of Music. (How does this come up randomly in conversation?, you ask. Well, as it were, we were driving through the countryside with my niece and I happened to nonchalantly say Look, there’s a deer – a doe! And then my nine-year-old niece broke into that song that even I’m familiar with, although I’ve never seen the musical.)

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My mom being nothing short of flabbergasted that I hadn’t seen it (which truthfully, came across more as horrified), insisted on making amends at once, or at least as soon as she could. She eventually got her hands on a copy after calling every library in the county, since the video rental store clerk (who looked to be just a couple years older than my niece) said she hadn’t even heard of it.

So anyway, we watched The Sound of Music one afternoon last week – all 174 minutes of it. I can be extremely good at multi-tasking though. While watching, I not only made slow-simmered beef taco meat for dinner (and I mean seriously slow-simmering…it cooks for three to four hours on the stovetop! But if you’re looking for the best tacos, I’ve got you covered), but I also made these muffins. We needed sustenance at about the 120 minute mark and these flavorful muffins were perfect.

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Pistachio-Chai Muffins
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Yield: 12 muffins
 
Ingredients
Muffins:
  • 1 cup (250 ml) milk (I used 1%)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup (115 g) all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup (85 g) whole wheat flour
  • ¾ cup (175 g) coconut palm sugar (or lightly packed brown sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 chai tea bags, opened (I used Tazo Organic Chai)
  • ¼ cup (65 ml) canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup (30 g) shelled roasted, unsalted pistachios, chopped
Glaze:
  • ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2-3 teaspoons water
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375F; line a muffin tray with paper liners (or butter and flour the muffin wells).
  2. Pour the milk into a medium bowl and drizzle in the lemon juice; let the milk and lemon juice sit for 3 minutes without stirring or moving the bowl.
  3. Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and tea in a large bowl.
  4. Stir the oil, vanilla, and egg into the bowl with the milk/lemon juice.
  5. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry all at once, being careful not to over-mix.
  6. Scoop the batter into the muffin tray and sprinkle the pistachio on top.
  7. Bake until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean, about 16 to 18 minutes. Cool completely.
  8. Once the muffins have cooled, make the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough water so it reaches your desired consistency.
  9. Drizzle the glaze on the cooled muffins and allow it to set before serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.
Faith, author of An Edible Mosaic.
About Faith

I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.

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34 Comments

  1. Hi. I am confused about the chai, is this powder or leaf form and will it not spoil the taste? Kindly advise.

    1. Sera, I basically cut open 2 tea bags and used the tea inside. It didn’t spoil the taste; this is what give these muffins their chai flavor. I hope this helps!

  2. Murphy Miller says:

    What a brilliant use of chai, I loved this recipe.

  3. This recipe looks great! Just to clarify, did you empty the contents of the tea bags in the recipe? Thanks for sharing!

    1. Audrey, Yes, cut open the tea bags and use the tea inside (this is why I used organic). Hope you enjoy the muffins if you give them a try!

  4. Well I’m glad you saw it because it’s a GREAT movie!! And that you got these muffins into the oven while watching it. THe pistachio chai combo sounds fabulous!

  5. but did you not love the movie? julie andrews is magnetic! great muffin flavor. :)

  6. Ah, the sound of music. I really need to re-watch it and introduce it to my kids.
    And chai & pistachios? Perfect together! Incidentally there is a south-asian ‘pink’ tea that is always served with a sprinkle of pistachios on top. We have it on weddings or other big events andit’s been years since I had any. This post has me hankering for both your muffins and pink chai!

  7. More super gorgeous photos Faith! These look so so good :)

  8. Interesting combination of flavors in these muffins…and I would love to have this muffins during the intermission.
    Have a great week Faith!

  9. this is so random: I bought an old kitchen tool at a flea market and asked The Kitchen what it was. And someone commented that YOU have the same one and linked to this post. It’s the same metal thingie that I bought :)

  10. I cannot beleive you never saw that movie.I must have seen it over 10 times in myyouth. think I am saturated for life ha ha. Thesechia muffins with pistachio sound awesome for intermission.

  11. I have never seen sound of music either :( I love pistachio flavor and this muffin definitely will be made soon! Thanks for the recipe. Keep multitasking like this :P

  12. These would be like a ray (a drop of golden sun) of sunshine on this dreary winter day. I love Chai flavors! :)

  13. So happy to have found your blog via the kitchen.com … beautiful photography & sweet words! Consider your blog pinned & subscribed. I love baking sweet bread & these look scrumptious. I kind of forgot about a huge jar of pistachios in my pantry … they are still yummy; but, I want to use them up soon. Thanks for this recipe! I may do streusel on half & glaze on the other … hmmm.

  14. I saw these, I made them… they were absolutely, totally and utterly divine. Thanks for sharing! You have created my new favourite cake. x

  15. Ohh Sound of Music :) great movie loveeeeeee it and all the songs ~ the kids are super cute too! You’re definitely super woman making all these delicious dishes while watching the movie!

    Love the look and sound of these muffins!

  16. I’m pretty sure I watched Sound of Music so much as a kid I could have quoted the entire movie word for word. Did you end up liking it? These muffins look killer, Faith! AND I want to hear more about these tacos!

  17. Oh my, that is horrifying, I’m so glad that your mom righted the wrong. The Sound of Music is one of my faves!
    I love that you added the Chai tea right into the muffins!

  18. Just printed this! I’m hoping to have some time to bake these tonight! Thanks for the recipe, Faith… :)

  19. These muffins are so pretty! Love the unusual flavour combination.

  20. Those muffins look fantastic. My husband has never seen The Sound of Music either! Have a good day. Diane

  21. The Sound of Music is classic! I actually watched it for the first time when I was in Salzburg, Austria in a hostel I was staying in…it was magical! Love the muffins, Faith! They’re gorgeous and I bet perfect with a hot cup of tea or coffee!

  22. Sound of Music has always been one of my favorites, especially Edelwiess at the end, such a classic! Multitasking is great though and these look so delish!

  23. Pistachios are awesome! I like seeing them in unexpected places, like in muffins! That movie is eh…better as a live musical ;)

  24. My fiance has never seen it either and I was completely amazed when he told me!

    On another note, these look absolutely gorgeous. Such a wonderful combination of flavours.

  25. Delightful muffins! I love the way they look.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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