Honey Mini Muffins (grain and sugar free)

My kids have been begging me for mini muffins lately. So this past weekend, I went out and bought a mini muffin pan, knowing full well that it would get lots of use. Bright and early Monday morning, we set out to make our first batch in our new muffin pan.

Since I've been sticking to mostly GAPS friendly ingredients lately, I decided to make these with honey. I also know that honey is the sweetener of choice for my kiddos (they ask for it at least once a day), so I knew they'd go bonkers for "honey" muffins. (They've also been reading a lot of Berenstain Bears books lately; maybe that has something to do with the honey fettish?)

These turned out so good, I knew I had to blog about them. To prove just how good these muffins are, I'll tell you that I've already made them a couple of times this week (they go that fast!). And I know they'll be requested yet again by the time the weekend rolls around.

I don't mind my kids noshing on these yummy muffins one bit; not only are they delicious, but they are also nutritious. Try them for breakfast, as a simple snack, or as a side with some soup or chili.

Honey Mini Muffins

Dry ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
10 drops liquid stevia

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 24 cup mini muffin tray with paper liners.

In a bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk all liquid ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until completely incorporated (batter will become thicker upon standing).

Pour batter into prepared mini muffin try, filling about 3/4 of the way to the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until tops are golden and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Buckwheat Muffins with Carrot and Pear (gluten and sugar free)

Remember me saying it's been muffin mania around here lately? It's true, and I'll prove it by providing yet another delicious muffin recipe with you. This round I chose to use buckwheat flour as my main ingredient. I was intrigued by Ali of the Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen's Buckwheat Muffin recipe; she claimed that due to the properties of this particular flour, it creates an almost "stringy goo" which holds all the ingredients together, therefore no xanthan gum is needed. Since I was currently out of xanthan gum, I thought I'd give this recipe a try.

Results? Wonderful and gobbled by my kiddos and husband alike. I did tweak Ali's recipe slightly by halving it, using grated pear in place of the applesauce, adding almond milk (I found the batter too dry without it), and using chocolate chips in place of the raisins (my husband is not a fan of raisins, can you believe that?!). The proportions turned out just right and the flavor was fantastic.

I commented on Ali's post that I would be making variations of the buckwheat muffin in the weeks to come. I'm envisioning a pumpkin version with cloves and nutmeg in addition to the ginger and cinnamon... stay tuned. In the meantime, try this dazzling recipe. Let me know how you like it!


Buckwheat Muffins with Carrot and Pear


Dry ingredients:
1 1/4 cups buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour or arrowroot powder
1/ 4 cup coconut palm sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch salt

Wet ingredients:
1 cup finely grated pear (or applesauce)
3/4 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons coconut oil, liquified
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup finely grated carrot
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips or raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with silicone liners.

In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together pear through grated carrot and stir to combine. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir again to form the muffin batter. Add chocolate chips or raisins and stir once more to incorporate.

Evenly distribute muffin batter into prepared muffin tins, filling close to the tops. Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes.

Banana Pecan Muffins (gluten, grain, and sugar free)

It's muffin mania around here lately. I've been cranking out the muffins a lot these days, as this seems to be the overwhelming breakfast request in my house. I love these muffins in particular because they are so high in fiber and protein, thanks to the coconut flour. Baking with coconut flour can be tricky, but once you get the hang of it (they require a lot of eggs to help them rise and not taste so "chalky"), you will love it for the sheer nutritional content.

This recipe only makes 6 muffins, so I usually double it to make sure we have a few leftover for snacks-on-the-go.

Banana Pecan Muffins

3 eggs
2 tablespoons coconut oil, liquified
2 tablespoons almond or other milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
1/4 cup coconut flour
2-3 tablespoons coconut palm sugar
1/2 ripe banana
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 6 cup muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.

In a bowl, whisk eggs with coconut oil, almond milk, and vanilla. Add baking powder, salt, coconut flour, and palm sugar. Whisk again until combined, removing as many lumps as possible. Slice banana into thin slices and add to batter, along with pecans and chocolate chips. Stir again a few times to incorporate.

Pour batter into prepared tin, filling close to the top of the liners. Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.

Makes 6 muffins.

Applesauce Rhubarb Muffins (gluten free, sugar free)

My mom just gave me some rhubarb from her garden and I've been anxious to make something with it. This morning I had the hankering for muffins and thought the rhubarb would be a great fit. The problem was, when searching online for a gluten free, sugar free rhubarb muffin recipe, I was hard pressed to find one. So I scoured my cookbooks, and low and behold, I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens Baking Cookbook. Of course, I had to make some changes to make this fit my dietary needs (sans gluten and sugar), but I would venture to guess that these are every bit as good as the original gluten and sugar laden recipe. These will definitely make an annual appearance at my house whenever rhubarb season comes upon us.

The flour blend I used here is a new one to me. I've been searching for a pre-mixed flour blend that makes gluten free baking a snap. I decided to try Bob's Red Mill brand of all purpose gluten free flour blend to see what I thought. I chose this brand because I love the combo of flours he uses: garbanzo and fava beans, potato and tapioca starches, and sorghum, making this blend rather high on the protein and fiber scale (which I love), with 3 grams of each in a 1/4 cup serving. I'd read all sorts of reviews that people thought the "beany" flavor was too strong, but I chanced it anyway. And I have to say that I do not detect a hint of "bean-y-ness" in this flour blend at all. In fact, it has produced the most wonderful baked goods to date. The other morning I made Belgian waffles with this blend and my husband says the waffles were the best I've made to date (quite the high complement from him!). So I give this flour blend a five star rating; it's that good.


Applesauce Rhubarb Muffins

Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose gluten free flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Xylosweet (xylitol)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon powdered stevia
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
3/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup chopped rhubarb

Topping:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Xylosweet (xylitol)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 9 muffin tins with paper or silicone liners.

In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients: flour blend through salt. In a separate bowl, whisk egg, applesauce, and coconut oil. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine (batter may be a little lumpy). Fold in rhubarb.

Scoop batter into muffin tins, filling about 3/4 of the way up. Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle over the tops of muffins. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let rest 5-10 minutes before enjoying.

Makes 9 muffins.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe is a tribute to my dad. For years, as many as I can remember, every Sunday morning he would make a batch of muffins and he always put chocolate chips in them. It was like his trademark. And I loved it. Anything with chocolate in it, and muffins were no exception.

This morning, I was thinking about my dad's tradition of the chocolate chip muffins and decided I needed my own Sunday morning chocolate chip muffin recipe. I also wanted a naturally sweet muffin, since chocolate chips are sweet all by themselves, so I thought a banana version would be a great choice. And I love chocolate and bananas together, such a perfect combination. (I couldn't help myself when I saw Kelly of Spunky Coconut's Banana Chocolate Pie recipe last week; it looked so good I had to make it on Friday night... yummy!)

So here you go Dad. A chocolate chip muffin recipe that isn't out of a box, has tons of protein and fiber, and is just delicious. And I saved some extras for you!


Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (gluten free, dairy free, sugar free)

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt

Wet ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut milk beverage (So Delicious), or almond milk
10 drops liquid stevia
2 tablespoons agave
2 ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 tablespoon Xylosweet (xylitol), optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.

In a medium bowl, add dry ingredients and stir.

In a separate bowl, add wet ingredients and stir.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir together to combine. Add chocolate chips and stir gently to incorporate.

Pour into prepared muffin tin, filling about 3/4 of the way up. Sprinkle the tops with Xylosweet, if using.

Bake 30 minutes, until tops spring back to the touch.

Makes 12-13 muffins.

Apple Carrot Muffins

Muffin love! That's what these should be called. Every bite is full of delicious warm and cinnamonny love. I make a variety of muffins each week, as these are one of the most requested breakfast items in my house. These are so great, especially for kids, because there is a whole apple and a few carrots baked right in. They are also great because they're packable, so you can throw them in your purse, diaper bag, or backpack and you've got the perfect go-to snack when you're out and about.

Not that this needs mentioning, but reminders are always good... these are so healthy: packed with protein and fiber, very low sugar, and fruits and veggies included. No need to feel the slightest bit of guilt when eating these babies, or serving them to your loved ones (big and small). My husband is every bit as much a fan of these as are my children.

Apple Carrot Muffins
 
Wet Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
10 drops liquid stevia
1/4 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons agave
1 medium apple, shredded
2 small carrots, shredded

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch salt
1 tablespoon Xylosweet (Xylitol), optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 8 paper or silicone liners.

In a small bowl, combine wet ingredients (through agave) and whisk until fully combined.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (through salt) and stir.

Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir to combine. Fold in shredded apple and carrots.

Pour into prepared muffin tin, filling about 2/3 full. Sprinkle Xylosweet over the tops of each muffin, if using (this gives the tops a nice, golden brown crust).

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool 10-15 minutes in pan before serving.

Makes 8 muffins.

Mini Blueberry Muffins

I've been striking it right on with the kid-approved food lately. The other night, I made a version of Kelly The Spunkey Coconut's Spinach and Artichoke Pies, and the three of us (me and my three year old and 13 month old sons) devoured half of them for our special dinner in front of the fire. Then this morning, I made these mini blueberry muffins, and as of the time of writing this at 2:15 in the afternoon, 19 of the 24 are gone... (yes they're mini, but 19 in one day for three people? That seems like a lot!).

But it is winter, and we are stuck inside, so I guess snacking on healthy, gluten free, high protein, high fiber, no sugar mini muffins is an ok thing to do.

...Right???!!!...

I'm experimenting more and more with stevia. Dr. Mercola sites it as one of the safest sweetners available; it has no calories and no impact on blood sugar levels. Since avoiding sugar is a major health endeavor of mine and my family, stevia is definitely a good fit. However, you can't just use stevia in the same proportions as you would sugar, as it is 300 times sweeter than sugar. So you have to get a little creative. I upped the stevia amount in these muffins to 1/2 teaspoon to try and decrease the amount of brown rice syrup. I was a bit afraid that the muffins would give off that unpleasant metallic taste that sometimes occurs when using stevia, but not here. It worked beautifully (as evidenced by the number of disappearing muffins on my counter...)! If you don't have stevia or brown rice syrup, you could substitute both of those for 1/4 cup of agave nectar (as agave is sweeter than brown rice syrup).


Mini Blueberry Muffins

Dry:
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon stevia powder
pinch salt

Wet:
1 large egg
1/2 cup almond (or other) milk
1/4 cup coconut oil, liquified
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4-1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 24 mini muffin tin with mini paper liners or grease muffin tin with coconut oil.

Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg, then add almond milk through vanilla and whisk again.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredient bowl and stir a few times to incorporate.

Gently set blueberries on top of the muffin mixture and with a large spoon, carefully stir the mixture, starting from the bottom of the bowl, moving it over the blueberries until they are fairly distributed into the mixture (you want to be very slow and gradual in this step so as to keep the blueberries from turning the mixture purple).

Using a tablespoon, scoop out muffin mix and place into prepared muffin tin, coming up to the top of the paper liners.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, until muffins are golden brown on top.

Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes before indulging.

Makes 24 mini muffins.

Part of Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays @ Simply Sugar and Gluten Free...

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!