Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free Muffins

This recipe will please anyone. The reason I decided to make a post about it is because  these are the best muffins I or my husband have ever eaten. I have baked many muffins in my life but these ones are outstanding. Plus there is the added benefit of them being dairy free, sugar free, and gluten free. The recipe is easy to make and extremely healthy. It is a combination of a few different recipes from various paleo websites. Through trial and error we have been able to figure out one that meets our needs the most.

My body doesn't digest wheat very well and we don't have any whole wheat or white flour in the house, so we have had to become very creative with our recipes. To my surprise there are plenty of ways to cook delicious food that doesn't involve gluten. Almond meal has been my magic ingredient in the kitchen. We use it in gravies, pizzas, breads, etc. So for this recipe instead of white flour we use almond flour.

There are no substitutes for sugar in this recipe; the fruit you will use in the muffins is plenty sweet. However - fair warning - this is not as sweet as a candy bar or a regular muffin. 

Instead of butter I use extra virgin, raw coconut oil. Coconut oil, like almond flour, is another one of my favorite ingredients in the kitchen, especially for baking.

However this recipe can be changed according to what you have in your kitchen and other preferences you might have. I wrote down the basic recipe and then you can play around with the ingredients. For example if you don’t like coconut oil or you ran out of it, you can substitute it with butter or olive oil. If you choose to use olive oil though, the muffins will have a strong olive oil flavor. Sometimes if I have creme fraische or yogurt in the fridge I will throw about three or four tablespoons in the liquid batter at the same time I put the eggs. It gives it an extra tangy flavor.

The muffins are very versatile; you can have them as a snack, side dish, or desert. They bake for less time than regular muffins since they are made from almond flour. The dough has a grainier texture than regular ones. We usually eat half of it while we are scooping it into the muffin tins; I hope you can exert more self control than us. 

If you have more questions about almond flour or would like more info on the nutritional value of these muffins check out my Q & A Almond Meal Muffins post.

• 2 1/2 cups almond meal
• 1 tsp sea salt or regular salt (find it here)
• 3 eggs, if you are allergic to eggs or simply ran out you can substitute with 3 overripe, mashed bananas.
• 1/2 cup of extra virgin, raw coconut oil ( find it here)
• 2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries, or 1 mashed overripe banana, or 1/3 cup of dried
•    cranberries
• 1tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp orange rind

1. Heat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix the almond flour with the salt. Yes there is no baking soda or baking powder in these. 
3. Then heat up the 1/2 cup of extra virgin, raw coconut oil. Let it cool off for a couple of minutes. Mix it up in a bowl with the eggs or bananas and stir constantly, add the vanilla, and then pour the almond mix in, just enough almond mix to make it into a porridge like consistency,  if that is two cups then stop at two cups and don't add the last half a cup. Finally add the blueberries and the orange rind.
4. Put some coconut oil on your muffin tin and then scoop about half a cup of dough into each tin. Let it bake for twenty minutes. Take it out and let it rest. Depending on your almond meal some muffins might be a little stickier than others. You just have to gingerly  loosen them and then slowly take them out of the pan. 
5. Enjoy!

Prep time: 10 minutes 

Cook time: 20 minutes

Servings: 6-8 muffins

This post was shared on Allergy Free Wednesday,