Almond Flour Gingerbread Muffins

Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. These are just a few of the things that warm my soul. Gingerbread has always been one of my holiday favorites because of how cozy it is — in flavor and scent. 

I have been waking up early since our trip to the Red River Gorge — it took me over a week to acclimate from the time change. So, with extra time to kill, an a frosty morning out my window, I jumped on the holiday baking train! First I made a french press, and then I pulled out all the spices, attempting to muffle any sounds as I open and closed cupboards.

How does the poem go? Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. At that wee hour of the morning, I worked quietly so as not to disturb a anyone. Just me, my whisk, and the preheating oven, working together while the rest of the neighborhood lay silent. 

Whiffs of molasses and ginger rose from the oven, waking everyone up before the muffins were even finished baking. While they were still hot, we smeared them with butter and sipped our coffee, as if it were Saturday, before hurrying off to work to meet the real world. 

These muffins, delicate and soft, but full of warmth, made it feel like Christmas morning, even in early November. You'll know the feeling when you make these muffins, or these crispy cookies, raw bites, or even this off-beat pumpkin pie. Gingerbread brings a smile to your face. 

Paleo Gingerbread Muffins

Published November 28, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 12   |    Total Time: 60 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 cup canned coconut milk, full fat
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
• 2 large eggs
• Optional: 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 12 whole pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a muffin pan with muffin liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: almond flour, arrowroot powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg. Whisk to remove any clumps.
3. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients: molasses, maple syrup, coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, melted butter, eggs, and orange zest if using. Whisk until few clumps remain.
4. Add half of the dry mixture to the wet, and stir. Then add remaining dry mixture, and continue to stir until a loose batter forms and few to no clumps remain. Divide batter among muffin liners, filling each about 5/6 of the way full. Top each muffin with a whole pecan.
5. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted into the middle of a muffin, comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving. Store in air tight container in fridge for up to 1 week.

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Blueberry Almond Muffins (Paleo)

The light came in through a window behind my back, over the sink and past the counter where my grandpa would make breakfast sausage in the mornings. Next to that was the fridge, decorated humbly with only a few cards. On the wall hung an off-white phone, it's cord long and tangled from use. The counters and the oven door were a faded tawny orange color, the wooden cabinets a deep mahogany, with golden stain--or at least that's how it is my memory. They're given no help from the rusty colored vinyl floors, which reflect an extra orange glow onto everything in the room. 

I sit in a kitchen chair with metal legs and a faux leather cushion. My grandma has pulled my hair back into a pony tail but it's like you would expect from any toddler: the stray wisps are everywhere, escaping the elastic ponytail holder and doing their own thing. That's where time is frozen: I'm pouring fresh blueberries into a bowl of batter, while my grandpa snaps a picture. The mixing bowl, bigger than my head, is also orange. Daringly, I'm wearing no apron, just a floral dress with puffy, short sleeves (it is the '90s). 

If it weren't for that picture, I wouldn't remember this day. Actually, I'm not sure if I do remember this day--my memories from being in this house are fleeting, single moments that fade and disappear before they really emerge. But because of this photo, I feel like I remember making those muffins. Not just those muffins, but many muffins. I feel like I remember preparing that same recipe every time I visited, setting my fate as a baker early. 

Many years later (and many times in-between), I would go back to visit. Everything was as it had been: orange vinyl, white phone, that dated oven door. Most of the cards on the fridge were the same, only a few were added to the mix. This picture sat in a frame in the living room, amongst 20 or 30 others. My grandma told me that when my younger cousins found the photo, they asked her if they could also learn to make muffins. Instead she taught each of them a different recipe, leaving her legacy behind in the whisks and folds of homey pastries.

Blueberry Almond Muffins (Paleo)

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    |   

Sweet blueberries are accented by toasted almonds in this tender muffin.

Yields: 6    |    Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/16 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoon raw honey
• ½ cup canned coconut milk, full fat
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup fresh blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 scant tablespoons cassava flour
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and fit a muffin pan with 6 muffin liners.
2. Next, in a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: almond flour, cassava flour, salt, baking soda.
3. In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: honey, coconut milk, vinegar, vanilla, melted coconut oil, and eggs.
4. When the wet ingredients are fully combined, add the dry ingredients to the wet 1/2 at a time, stirring in-between. A batter will form. Once no clumps remain, fold in the blueberries gently.
5. Using two spoons, scoop the batter into muffin liners until they are about 5/6 of the way full. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of slivered almond and then bake for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Set on cooling wrack to cool 10 minutes.

Paleo Chocolate Chip and Fig Sunbutter Muffins

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Last week, after climbing, we sat in the car debating where to eat, when this place came up on Yelp: mmm...Coffee Paleo Bistro. Decision made! It's rare enough to find a paleo-friendly restaurant, let alone something with a strictly paleo menu.

Mmm...Coffee Paleo Bistro is a small cafe that serves only paleo goodies. It's disguised as a coffee shop, but dishes up grain-free everything, from muffins to brownies and granola. My eyes grew three sizes when I saw the muffins in their pastry case. Those are paleo too?! I asked, already knowing the answer. They were tall, golden muffins that overflowed from their muffins cups the way muffins do in any coffee shop. The owner of the bistro confirmed: paleo. 

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After splitting a muffin for dessert, I knew that it was game time: go home and recreate these muffins. Puffy and oversized. Soft, sturdy, and a bit nutty. I began searching for recipes for sunflower seed butter muffins as soon as I had a decent internet connection. I knew that mmm...Coffee's version used flax, but I prefer to bake with eggs and figured I'd give it a shot. Want a close up of what had me so excited? The texture of these muffins is just so... muffin-y, in a way that most paleo muffs fall short. See:

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Since these muffins are made of primarily sunflower butter, they're high in protein--sunflower seeds are higher in protein than most other common nuts and seeds. Sunflower butter has an addicting peanut butter-like taste to it, so it pairs well with fruit flavors (like figs!) and chocolate. I've been day dreaming about a PB&J version of these muffins, too! 

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Paleo Chocolate Chip and Fig Sunbutter Muffins

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegan   |   Caitlin Sherwood    |   

Yields: 6   |    Total Time: 30 Minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup sunflower seed butter AKA "sunbutter" (NOTE: if you use homemade sunflower seed butter, your muffins may turn a slight green color as they cool. This is due to a naturally occurring and edible nutrient in plants called chlorogenic acid.
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (skip this if you are using salted sunbutter)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped dried figs (roughly 7 figs)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
2. In a food processor or blender, combine the sunbutter, bananas, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Puree until smooth.
3. Fold in the chocolate chips and figs until evenly distributed. Spoon the batter into the muffin liners until they are about 3/4 of the way full.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.