Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Cinnamon Spice Muffins

Today it's an ugly day outside and it has been raining non-stop since we woke up.  It was a great day to play around in the kitchen and do a little bit of baking.  I've been wanting to make a muffin recipe to give me another breakfast alternative to choose from -- one that was portable.  I made a quick and simple "not too sweet" basic muffin that could easily be modified to change the flavor by adding nuts, fruits, etc.  I originally planned to use some unsweetened applesauce in them but since I had some buttermilk that I needed to use, I added that to my batter instead for moistness.  I didn't want them to be too oily or rich...I wanted them light and moist and I accomplished that.  I ate one with a cup of coffee for my "lunch" this afternoon.  Hubby (who is not wheat free) had two of them and really liked them too.  Below are a few pictures as well as the recipe.  Enjoy!





Cinnamon Spice Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

Muffin Batter
1 cup ground golden flax seed
1 cup blanched almond flour
1 tablespoon psyllium powder
1/4 cup walnuts, lightly toasted
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum free)
3/4 cup Swerve sweetener (or sweetener of choice equivalent to 3/4 cup sugar)
1 cup Egg Beaters (or 4 large eggs)
1/2 cup buttermilk (or almond milk, unsweetened applesauce or other pureed fruit or berry)
1/2 cup "extra light" olive oil (or preferred oil of choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla

"Cinnamon-Sugar" Topping
1 tablespoon Swerve sweetener (or granular sweetener of choice)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk dry ingredients together (first 9 ingredients) to ensure breaking up any lumps.  Add eggs, buttermilk (or fruit puree), oil and vanilla and mix until batter is blended well.  Using a retractable ice cream scoop, divide and spoon batter evenly between 12 paper lined muffin cups (approximately 3/4 full).  In a small bowl, make cinnamon sugar by mixing 1 tablespoon Swerve (or preferred granular sweetener) and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon together.  Sprinkle the top of each muffin with the "cinnamon sugar".  Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 22 minutes or until lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of largest muffin comes out clean.  

***Note:  If you add fruit to the muffins instead of buttermilk, you may want to reduce the amount of sweetener a bit.  Also, if you prefer "not very sweet" muffins, reduce the amount of sweetener to about 1/2 cup.  I made them both ways (I preferred the muffins that used 1/2 cup sweetener and hubby liked those with 3/4 cup sweetener a little more but thought both were good). 


     

5 comments:

Vicki said...

What is the psyllium powder for? Can I leave it out or substitute something else? Thanks!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

It adds some fiber and a little body -- but YES, you can definitely make it without the psyllium. Hope you enjoy! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

P.S. -- Maybe add extra flax in place of the psyllium -- the same amount.

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

Made these today. I was going to make the Cranberry Orange Walnut Mini Muffins, but was out of too many ingredients (the story of my life) and didn't want to sub a bunch of stuff that would make them into something altogether different. I've been wanting to make the Cinnamon Spice Muffins for quite a while now, and I'm glad I finally did ... Super Yummy! :-) (Will make the other ones as soon as I get all the ingredients together at the same time!)

P.S. I've really become quite a fan of Swerve!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis! Glad you enjoyed the muffins -- I am really enjoying the cranberry orange muffins and am actually enjoying them more as the days go by -- it's nice to grab as a little snack or have with coffee. I like that they are not too sweet and have that cranberry twang. I think in general I am liking mini muffins size better in general because you can easily have 1 or 2 and not feel like you have to eat an entire muffin if you just want a little bite of something. Glad you liked the cinnamon spice muffins. I am enjoying baking more now, too. Glad you are enjoying Swerve too -- now if more stores would stock it, we'd be set! :-)