Paleo Strawberry Muffins: Success or Fail?

Baking gluten free, dairy free, and egg free is always a challenge. I have an AA in Pastry Arts and I still struggle to cook and bake this way. I recently started following this wonderful blogger Paleo Gluten Free Eats on Instagram and she has inspired me to start baking and cooking more. Her posts are beautifully photographed and she is always making something interesting and new. Watching her videos and reading her blog made me start searching even further for more recipes that fit in my dietary category. For the most part, her recipes do that, but I also need egg free. It's extremely difficult to find something Paleo AND egg free.

I recently headed the Paleo route only because that diet does eliminate dairy and gluten already. The added bonus is no refined sugar, which I have also been working on cutting down. The only problem with Paleo and my dietary restrictions is that it does include eggs, and usually a lot of them. (In regular cooking, it also usually includes a lot of meat which my body isn't used to. I have also recently eliminated chicken as an experiment). So, with that in mind, I went to Pinterest. I have (as many do) a love/hate relationship with Pinterest. It's mostly that I hate that I love it. As many of us know, though, it's a great resource for recipes, especially for special diets. I found a few recipes I wanted to try but was craving something I could take as a snack for work that also felt summery. I came across a recipe for Paleo Strawberry Muffins. No gluten, no dairy, no refined sugar...but 3 eggs. Going back to my baking training, I remembered that I could substitute a flax or chia "egg" instead of using a powdered egg replacer (which never works as well and smells like chemicals). So, I went on a run to the store to find chia.

The store only had whole chia seeds which I determined would be fine and I could just grind them in the tiny food processor we have. NOPE. This was the one big fail. 20 min of grinding in the food processor and they barely broke down. I tried mashing them in the mortar and pestle we have (that a quick search on Google said would also be an option) and NOPE. Nothing. So, I went forward with the recipe anyway. This was the major flaw in my plan. When the chia isn't broken down into powder it becomes EXTRA gelatinous and way too thick to be an egg replacement. I ended up baking it longer than necessary and it was still a bit gummy. The taste was great but I had to toss the remaining muffins after a few days because they got soggier. I have already ordered a spice grinder so I can try this recipe again!

Try it yourself and let me know how it goes. I have included the regular egg and the chia/flax egg information. The strawberries can be swapped out for raspberries, blueberries or I would think even apples (with a dash of cinnamon...yum). Find the original recipe here.

Servings: 9 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond flour        
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs (flax or chia substitute: 1 Tbsp. ground flax or chia to 3 Tbsp. water per egg)  
• 1/4 cup honey (preferably organic and raw; sub maple syrup for vegan)
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil melted (can also substitute ghee for all or half of oil)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries     

  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease or line muffin tin (or use silicone baking cups).
2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl with a large whisk. Combine wet ingredients in medium bowl. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and gently fold in strawberries.
3. Use a large ice cream or cookie scoop to fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
4. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

I will be trying this recipe again as soon as my grinder arrives. I will post an update to my trial. So, the verdict is that it was a successful fail. Not a complete fail, but not a complete success. A second trial awaits!

Gingerbread Granola: A Bowl of Nutty Goodness

Well, it's been quite some time since I last posted. I apologize for my lack of consistency. I have no good excuse. Just pure fall-time laziness. I can't tell you how many times I put my blog on my list of things to do. What is it about fall weather that makes you so tired? Let's talk about the time change while we are at it. Is it really necessary??? I don't think so. Especially not in California. I get out of work at 5 and it is pitch black outside. It makes me want to do nothing more than go home, eat dinner, put on pajamas, and go to bed. Which is exactly what I have been doing. A lot. But huzzah! I have a list going of projects I want to do. More about that later. Let's get to the yummies!

Gingerbread Granola. You read that correctly. I love granola. I eat it almost every day. My go to is Kind brand of granola. They have great flavors, it's gluten free, and you can find it at almost any supermarket. Once in a while though, you just want something different. Bonus: the house will smell amazing!

As I have said before, Pinterest is a love of mine. Why wouldn't it be? With all the wonderful recipes and crafts? So of course, the recipe I used was from Pinterest. You can find the original recipe here. I switched out some of the nuts to use what I had in the house, but essentially kept the recipe the same. 

You will need:

1. 1 cup almonds
2. 1 cup cashews (walnuts or pecans)
3. 2/3 cup pepitas/pumpkin seeds (or other small seed)
4. 1/2 cup coconut flakes (optional)
5. 1 tsp cinnamon
6. 1/2 tsp ground ginger
7. 1/2 tsp salt
8. Pinch of ground cloves
9. 1/3 cup maple syrup
10. 1/4 cup coconut oil
11. 2 tbsp molasses
12. 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the almonds, cashews, and pumpkin seeds into a food processor and pulse to break the mixture into smaller pieces. If you do not have a food processor, you can chop them up in to smaller pieces using a chef's knife. I chose to have mine in larger pieces as seen below. Smaller pieces might even be better.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the maple syrup, coconut oil, molasses, and vanilla together for 30-45 seconds. You don't want it too hot, just warm enough to melt together.

Remove from the microwave and stir the mixture until mixed together. Add the cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cloves. Stir well and make sure it is well combined. Next, add in the nut mixture from the food processor, and stir gently. It's best to use a large, sturdy wooden or plastic spoon for this step as it will make it easier to scoop and stir.

Add shredded coconut. Transfer the granola mixture to the lined baking sheet and spread it out in an even layer. I used an offset spatula to make sure it was thin and even.

Put the pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. The liquid mixture may still be liquid. This is because it is hot sugar. When it has cooled, it will harden so don't over bake the mixture or it will taste like burnt sugar. Remove granola from the oven, stir around to make sure sugar coating is mixed in, and then let sit and cool completely. Break into chunks and store in an airtight container or resealable bag for up to a week.

If the mixture is over baked, it will probably give it a smokey/burnt sugar flavor. My oven is a bit temperamental so unfortunately mine was slightly overcooked. It still smelled and tasted amazing. 

As you can see, this is a pretty easy recipe. You can substitute the nuts for what you have or what you like. The spices and molasses are what makes it taste like gingerbread. Just don't over cook it and it will be amazing!

In other news, I have many things on my list to blog about. I will try to get a new post out to you each week. With the holidays it has been hard, but it is my goal. I am going to finally try making a Jamberry application video, I have some holiday cookie baking to do, AND I was just introduced to needle felting. I am going to try out the needle felting before I decide if I will blog about it, but it seems awesome, inexpensive, and it turns out adorable results! So for now I will say Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Season's Greetings. Keep baking and keep crafting!