This muffin recipe was WORK, y’all. I spent two days concocting and tasting recipes and most of the muffins I produced ended up in the trash. Ya see, I wanted to build a gluten-free muffin recipe, so I grabbed almond flour – I love the idea of using something so nutty and buttery and earthy as a baking base. The thing is, I’ve never cooked with almond flour before, so the experience on Day One was a veritable disaster. The first batch came out lumpy and grainy and mushy and tasteless (sounds great, right?) The second batch came out with better consistency, but absolutely zero flavor. I figured I needed to up the flavor quotient quite a bit to get these babies tasting like something I’d wanna eat, so I brainstormed and came back on Day Two with a revamped recipe. I ended up forgetting to add baking powder to the muffin mix, and was genuinely terrified I’d be throwing a THIRD batch of muffins into the garbage, but these little guys came out PERFECTLY. The lack of a leavening agent left them deliciously chewy and moist, and the flavor was exactly what I wanted: these muffins are chocolaty and sweet without being too ‘extra,’ and the orange zest lingers just a bit after you take a bite. They seriously taste like those terrible-for-you coffee shop muffins, but they’re actually less than 200 cals a pop, thanks to healthier ingredients and their smaller size.
I’m glad I spent 48 hours gettin’ these right, because they’re about to become my morning cuppa’s favorite new pal. Here’s how ya bake ’em.
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Ingredients:
1.5 cups almond flour
1/2 cup quick cook oats
◊ Quaker oats are naturally gluten free, but the company has said that the oats may be cross-contaminated with gluten during production and shipping.
1/4 cup turbinado (raw) sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of one orange
2 eggs
2/3 cup soy milk
1/4 cup honey
40 grams dark chocolate (I used half of a Lindt 78% Cocoa Excellence bar)
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 375 degrees.
Combine the flour, salt and cinnamon in a large sifter and sift into a mixing bowl.
◊ Sifting is annoying and takes a few extra minutes, but don’t skip this step or you’ll end up with lumpy, grainy, downright weird muffins.
Add all other ingredients to the flour mixture aside from the chocolate and stir to combine.
Shave the chocolate with a knife and chop into small, thin pieces. Fold into muffin batter.
Place muffin liners into a standard muffin tin and spray with non-stick spray. Spoon batter into the tin and tap the entire tray on the counter a few times before baking to eliminate bubbles and distribute the batter evenly.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
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Yield: 12 muffins
Serving Size: 1 muffin
Calories: approx. 175 calories per serving
Dietary Info: Gluten Free.