Longan Walnut Muffins

You can easily make these soft, moist, buttery, and fluffy muffins studded with dried longan pieces and walnut pieces and just lightly sweetened from scratch.

What is dried longan?

Dried longan is a popular ingredient in Asian cuisine, both in savory and sweet dishes. It is commonly used in soups, desserts, snacks, and as a topping for various dishes. Dried longan has a naturally sweet and floral flavor with hints of honey. The texture is chewy, similar to raisins or dried apricots.

Can I use canned or fresh longan for this recipe?

I haven’t tried using them in this recipe personally. Believe it or not, canned longan or fresh longan doesn’t have the same flavor as dried longan. For this recipe, I don’t recommend switching to canned or fresh longan. But, if you do try to bake with them, do let me know how it turns out 🙂

Why you’ll love this recipe

1. Easy recipe
The basic muffin recipe is so easy to put together and doesn’t require any kitchen gadget like an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer
2. Soft and moist muffin
It’s a basic muffin recipe that I can adapt and use with different toppings and fillings
3. Great combination of dried longan and walnuts
Dried longan has a great flavor that you don’t find in regular longan fruit. The flavor is intense and it pairs so well with the earthy nutritious walnuts

Important tips

1. Properly measure your ingredients
I always weigh with a scale. If you use a cup measurement, use the “spoon and level” method to measure flour. Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, then level it off with a flat edge. Avoid scooping directly from the flour bag, as this can lead to overpacking and too much flour in your recipe.
2. Please ensure your baking powder is fresh and active
The muffins depend on it to rise and give you a fluffy airy texture
3. Room temperature ingredients
Make sure your wet ingredients (such as eggs and milk) are at room temperature. They combine better when they are not cold, creating a batter mixture that is smooth and even, which is important to avoid dense texture in muffin
4. Don’t overmix
Mix the batter just until the dry and wet ingredients are combined. Overmixing can develop gluten and result in tough muffins.
5. Avoid overbaking
Keep a close eye on your muffins and use a toothpick or cake tester to check for doneness. Insert it into the center of a muffin; if it comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (not wet batter), they are done. Overbaking can lead to dry muffins.

How to bake longan walnut muffins

1. Warm up the milk in the microwave for a few seconds just until it’s warm, no need to be boiling hot. Cut the dried longan into small pieces.

2. Soak the dried longan in the warm milk for about 30 minutes while you prepare other things

3. Toast the walnuts on a dry pan without any oil over medium-low heat until they are fragrant and nutty. Chop them into small pieces and set aside

4. Preheat oven to 400 F (20 C) for conventional oven, 380 F (190 C) for convection oven. Line your 12-well muffin pan with cupcake liners. Combine all the dry ingredients and set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until the sugar melts, add the melted butter, vanilla and the milk you use to soak the dried longan. Whisk to combine

5. Add the flour mixture, soaked longan, and walnut pieces. Use a spatula to fold until just combined and you no longer see any loose pockets of flour. It is important not to overmix the batter or the muffins will turn out dense

6. Scoop the muffin batter into each cup, filling it about 3/4 full. Add the walnut pieces on top and sprinkle with some turbinado sugar

7. Bake in the preheated oven, middle rack for 15-17 minutes or until the top is dry to touch and spring back when you touch lightly. A toothpick inserted should come out pretty clean with some crumbs, but nothing should be wet. DO NOT overbake the muffins or they will be dry and tough. Let them cool down in the pan for 5 minutes (Do not skip this step). Then transfer to a cooling rack to let them cool down completely

8. Once the muffins have cooled down completely, store them in an air-tight container or in a zipper bag, push all the air out and seal. They stay fresh at room temperature for 2-3 days.\

Did you make this longan walnut muffins recipe?

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