Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Today I was in the mood for a muffin. I don't get in these moods all that often, and since the summer temps have finally cooled down enough to turn my oven on, I thought I would create a mildly sweet yet hearty muffin using up some remaining local and organic apples I had sitting on my table. I didn't make them for breakfast, but rather as a mid-morning snack for me and my three year old.

A few months ago my doctor ran some tests on me and discovered that I am hypoglycemic, so I literally have to eat every two to three hours (I've always been a food grazer, eating very small meals and snacks throughout the day, but to have to eat every two to three hours is still quite new to me). And to be honest, I've been in such a rut with my "snacks" that I needed something really wow-ing to get me out of that funk. These muffins did it- wow!

Don't let the gluten free-ness of this muffin recipe give you a moment's hesitation. You'd never know you're missing the gulten. As with all gluten free baking recipes, it can be a bit tricky to find a combination of flours that create a muffin that holds together very well (I was a bit concerned that they would turn out to be crumbly and fall apart with one bite- not so!). And I prefer to use as few starch flours as possible when baking, so as to keep the glycemic load from skyrocketing, and keep the high fibrous flour content high, hence the almond flour and flax. I think the combo presented here is perfect.

A note about the sweetness factor of these muffins: they are mildy (not overly) sweet. Here's why: since I stopped eating sugar a few years back, I just don't crave it anymore (and when I do eat something sweet, it is always a natural, low glycemic sweetner, think: agave, Xylosweet, stevia). So to me, the mild sweetness factor of these muffins is perfect. If you, however, like your sweets really sweet, then you might want to up the ante on the Xylosweet or agave from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup. Either way, it's a fantastic recipe, and will serve as a base for other muffin variations to come.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Dry Ingredients

1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup Xlyosweet
1/8 teaspoon stevia (optional)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk, cream, or almond milk
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 grated apples (about 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 muffin tins with either paper or silicone liners.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and add milk, oil, and vanilla and mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients bowl and combine. Stir in the grated apples. Spoon muffin mixture into muffin tins, filling about 3/4 of the way to the top.

Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool in pan set on a wire rack for about 30 minutes. Of course, if you can't wait that long, fresh out of the oven will work just fine!