I <3 Muffins!
Muffins are a great snack to have around for a quick bite when you’re on-the-go or need a little fuel to get you through the morning or afternoon. These muffins are both moist & hearty with a nice crunch from the walnuts. They are sure to impress the whole household!
A word about ‘xanthan gum’: Xanthan gum is a powder added to gluten-free baking to provide a ‘gluten’ texture to the baked goods. However, many people’s digestive systems do not tolerate this gum well, because it is derived from corn and, well, it is ‘gummy’. So you may want to consider replacing this ingredient with egg, ground flax seed, or ground chia seed. Or, you can omit it in most cookie & muffin recipes and not really notice a different in the texture. But it is best to keep xanthan gum in your gluten-free pancake, cake & bread recipes whenever it is called for.
Substitution for xanthan gum:
1. If you want to add a little fluffiness to any gluten-free recipe, you can always add a whisked egg or two to the wet ingredients.
2. In a small bowl, add 1 Tbsp ground flax or chia seed with 2 Tbsp hot water. Let sit for 3-5 mins and add to wet ingredients.
- 2 ½ cups brown rice flour
- ½ cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup each brown & raw cane sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp xanthan gum (*see the 'A word about xanthan gum' post for substituting xanthan gum)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups mashed ripe bananas
- 1 cup vanilla ‘mylk’ (rice, almond, coconut, hemp, etc)
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1-2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries
- 1 cup walnut pieces
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly oil muffin tins or line with paper cups.
- In a large bowl, combine brown rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder & sea salt. Mix together well.
- Place bananas in a 4 cup measuring cup or bowl, and mash with a fork. It should measure about 2 cups.
- Add melted coconut oil to dry ingredients and stir vigorously until there are several small clumps (it doesn't have to be perfect, it's just one way to avoid the melted coconut oil from clumping when colder ingredients are added).
- Mix milk & vanilla into mashed bananas.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients bowl and mix together. Fold in blueberries and walnuts.
- Spoon batter into muffin tins until about ¾ to full (for smaller muffins, or completely full for larger muffins). Bake at 375 F for about 20-25 mins.
- Gently take muffins out of muffin tin (may need to loosen sides with a knife) and place onto wire rack to cool.
- Enjoy!