Chai Muffins

     "Susan, do you have a grain-free, nut-free, dairy-free muffin recipe you like?" 
    
     "Yes, and no."  (This has a ton of eggs in it, so not a good option for those with egg sensitivity)

I love to bake, it was the first experience I had in the kitchen growing up and I used to make cakes and cookies "from scratch."  Moving into baking with gluten-free, nut, and coconut flours have taken some adjustment, not to mention moving away from dairy sources of fat.  I think texture is the hardest thing to emulate, nothing really compares to the heft and lightness that butter and wheat flours bring to pastry.  So we're going to focus on how good these muffins taste on their own, not how they compare to muffins made with wheat flour.  These are light and a little "spongy" due to the large amount of eggs needed when using coconut flour.  Beccause of all the eggs, they are a decent source of protein as well.  I suspect, since I was eating these with bacon--they would be outstanding with bacon bits actually baked into them or sprinkled on top.  Maybe next time I'll do them that way and adjust the recipe accordingly.  For now, these are muffins that I would make when I'm craving "carbs" in a more substantial way. 

This recipe is derived from this great post/recipe: http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/index.cfm/2009/11/4/making-a-light-fluffy-gluten-free-coconut-flour-muffin

Chai Muffins

1 cup organic coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. clove
6 eggs
4 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup coconut milk (or almond milk if you are okay with nuts)
3 tablespoons raw honey
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoonorganic vanilla extract or 1/4 vanilla, 1/4 almond extract--(again with the nut thing-but it does give a nice little touch to the muffin)
1 cup organic unsweetened applesauce

 

Preheat oven at 350 F degrees.

Sift the coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices together into a small bowl. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl beat eggs together. And add butter, coconut oil, milk, honey, sugar and vanilla. Whisk together to blend.

Whisk in coconut flour mixture and applesauce until well blended. Batter will be thick. Pour batter among the muffin tins lined with paper liners above 3/4.  These won't rise a lot, but make sure you fill the cups evenly.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Yield: 18 muffins