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Earlier this year, a round of health panels changed how we cook. Nothing dramatic happened in our kitchen overnight, but the direction was clear. We now build our meals around whole foods, and we keep refined sugar and heavily processed ingredients to an absolute minimum.
What we never considered giving up was a warm muffin with morning coffee. A way of eating that makes you miserable doesn’t last, and honestly, it isn’t much of a life.
These are the result. They’re gluten free, lightly sweetened with honey or maple syrup, and built on almond flour, whole grain gluten free oats, and ground flax. They taste like something from a good bakery and they keep well for two weeks in the fridge, though they rarely last that long.
Why these ingredients
Almond and oats. Together they give a tender, moist crumb without refined starches or gums. Make sure your oats are certified gluten free, since regular oats are often cross contaminated with wheat. I use my food processor to grind into oat flour, but store-bought oat flour will also work.
Ground flaxseed. Without gluten, muffins tend to crumble. Ground flax turns slightly gel-like when it meets the wet ingredients and holds everything together. It also adds fiber and omega-3s.
A little honey or maple syrup. A quarter cup for the whole batch, which works out to about a teaspoon per muffin. The bananas do most of the sweetening.
Ceylon cinnamon. A full tablespoon, which is a lot. We use Ceylon because it’s softer and sweeter than the common cassia variety. Cassia also contains far more coumarin, a compound worth limiting when you use cinnamon this generously.
Notes from my kitchen
Baking with almond and oats takes a small shift in technique. In my oven they turn out perfect at 25 to 27 minutes, but start checking at 20, since every oven runs differently.
The most important tip is not to panic if they still look a little moist in the middle when you pull them out. In general, gluten free flour bakes keep cooking from the heat of the tin after you pull them out of the oven, so let them sit in it for at least 10 minutes before moving them. In gluten free baking, moisture is the glue. When the tops start looking golden brown and start to crisp, they’re probably ready to take out, but check with a knife or toothpick in the center of a muffin; it should come out wet-ish, but should have no clumps stuck to it.
I usually make two dozen and put them in the fridge. I’ve enjoyed them two weeks later and they’re still great! I haven’t tried freezing them yet, but I plan to do so for easy postpartum breakfasts and snacks when my baby is born.
The recipe
Makes 12 muffins
Dry ingredients
1½ cups almond flour
1 cup certified gluten free oats (ground in a food processor, or substitute GF oat flour)
½ cup ground flaxseed meal
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp Ceylon cinnamon
Wet ingredients
1½ cups mashed ripe bananas, about 3 medium, mashed completely smooth
3 large eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup honey or maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, oat flour, flax, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
In a second bowl, whisk the bananas, eggs, olive oil, honey or maple syrup, and vanilla until well combined.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir gently with a spatula until just combined. Fold in the walnuts, if using.
Let the batter rest for 5 to 10 minutes so the flax can thicken it.
Divide the batter among the liners, filling each about three quarters full.
Bake on the middle rack for 20 to 27 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Let them cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack.
