Monday, December 8, 2008

*Muffins!

Mini-jam-filled almond muffins to be exact.

In an effort to make a morning treat as healthy and satisfying as possible, I did a little experimenting. First, I tried to make a pumpkin almond (regular sized) muffin and they were, well, absolutely disgusting: the outside was burnt and the inside was a gooey mess with a mealy texture. So, those got tossed. But, being the girl that I am, I didn't give up. I still wanted a high-protein, low-sugar muffin, but my key -- as it is in a lot of my gluten-free baking, was to make it miniature.

And here you have my miniature jam-filled almond muffins. And they're quite satisfying -- just two of these with your morning tea or coffee can fill you up plenty. Also, I made them two different ways: one with egg, and one with ground flax seed heated up with some water (a basic egg replacer recipe) and they both came out well -- the egg-based muffin looked more, well, muffiney -- the other a tad bit grainier, lighter in color and they didn't rise as high -- but still tasty (in photo above, the flax recipe is the muffin on the left, and egg recipe is on the right -- it's the opposite in the photo below).

Mini-Jam-Filled Almond Muffins (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan if you want)

makes nine mini-muffins


1 3/4 cup blanched almond flour (aka almond meal)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg (or 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds mixed with 6 tablespoons water, microwaved for one minute, or until gel-like)
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/4 cup jam of choice

Preheat oven to 325 F and grease a mini muffin pan with shortening or oil of choice.
In a bowl, mix the almond flour, salt, and baking soda until combined. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, vinegar and agave nectar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine. Fill each muffin tin with a scant tablespoon of the batter, then add about a 1/2 teaspoon of the jam, making a small indent in each muffin. Add about a teaspoon of batter on top of each jam-filled muffin and bake for 10-15 minutes in the oven.




*Said in reference to hilarious youtube muffin sensation found here.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

How great do those sound?! Must try the vegan version. And that video is HILARIOUS. What possesses people to do something like that, I wonder?? (his face at the end is priceless)!

Liz said...

Thanks Ricki! I get such a kick out of that video. Seriously, if I ever need a good laugh I'll revisit that clip, or just on cuteoverload and I'm immediately in a better mood.

Jack said...

I ate 3 of these muffins in about 90 seconds. They go great with my coffee in the morning.

Anonymous said...

These look great and there's nothing like finding a sweet treat inside. Henry looks much more at ease with food than he does babies. Aaah, he's still my favorite, although your niece is a cutie. :-)
Melissa

Liz said...

Glad you liked 'em Jack!

Absolutely Melissa! Maybe putting the muffins near my niece would make him more at ease with her ;)

Lauren said...

Almond flour rocks! I made a similar muffin using erythritol or sometimes honey. Yours look delicious!