banana muffins

When faced with the choice between making "bread" vs "muffins," I almost always choose muffins because they cook so much faster. (or donuts bc why not)

Which is why this recipe is for banana muffins and not banana bread.

Mix in a bowl:

1 really ripe banana, mushed with a fork

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c. oil

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. vinegar

1/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. gf flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Pour into a greased muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes at 350. Top with nuts, seeds, chocolate, or nothing. I couldn't make up my mind so I did a couple of each. 

Makes 6 muffins.

Cranberry nut donuts

Continuing the donut trend... my mom makes these cranberry nut bars every Christmas and I tried them in donut form, with much success. They didn't last past breakfast. Adapted from the recipe on the back of the cranberry bag.

Cranberry Nut Donuts

1 egg

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

2 T. olive oil

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. gf flour

3/4 c. finely chopped fresh cranberries

1/4 c. finely chopped walnuts

Beat the egg with a whisk. Stir in the sugar, oil, and vanilla. Stir in the flour and salt. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts. Spoon into a sandwich bag, and cut the corner out. Pipe into a greased donut pan.* Bake for 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Dust with powdered sugar.

*I attempted to stretch the batch to make 6 donuts, but as you can see from the first picture they turned out a little skinny. Makes 4 chubbier donuts, as you can see in the second picture.**

**I ran out of cranberries and substituted some finely chopped blueberries in a second batch. Equally delicious.

P.S. I tried this recipe with baking powder to get a fluffier texture, but the overall opinion was that they are better without.

Banana donuts

Banana muffins... but make it a donut. Because why the heck not?

Banana donuts

Mix in a bowl:

1 really ripe banana, mushed with a fork

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c. oil

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. vinegar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 c. gf flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Pour the batter into a sandwich baggie and cut off the corner. Pipe into a greased donut pan. Top with cinnamon sugar, walnuts, chocolate chips, etc.

Bake at 350 for 13 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 6 donuts

less dense cornbread

I made chili tonight. When I asked my man if he wanted cornbread with it, he declined, saying my cornbread was "too dense."

Gasp. Oh, no. That word is the bane of every gluten free baker. Over the years, I've gotten used to the way gluten free tastes and this type of feedback is very valuable.

Thankfully, I fixed it. Thanks to the delightful and scientific combination of baking soda and vinegar, this recipe is lighter (and sweeter, because he prefers a sweeter cornbread). He, myself, and a friend all enjoyed these muffins without complaint.

Mini cornbread muffins

1/2 c. gf flour mix

1/2 c. corn meal

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

3 T. sugar (if you like sweet cornbread)

1 egg

2 T. oil

1/2 c. almond milk

1 t. apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl (Or, a 2 c. liquid measuring cup with a spout). Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Pour the batter into 12 greased mini muffin wells. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Pumpkin donuts

Y'all, I do not regret buying a donut pan. I always thought they were no different from, say, muffins, but things really do bake up differently in a donut pan.

I've tried a few different recipes for pumpkin donuts and this is my favorite, adapted from here. 

Pumpkin Donuts

1.5 c. GF flour mix
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. loosely packed brown sugar
1 t. pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 t. cinnamon

1 egg
1/2 c. pumpkin
2 T. oil
1/4 c. almond milk
1 t. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl. Then mix it all together.
Spoon the batter into a sandwich baggie and cut off the corner. Pipe the batter generously into a greased donut pan. It should fill 6 wells. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

These are good on their own, but the maple cinnamon glaze (adapted from here) really makes these fantastic.

Maple Cinnamon glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 T maple syrup
2 T. almond milk
dash of salt

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl wide enough to dip the donuts.  Microwave for 15 seconds to help the flavors meld (I hate that "stale" powdered sugar taste). Dip the donuts and let the glaze set.

*Pumpkin pie spice:
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

Pumpkin veggie muffins

Today I have for you, another edition of "put as many veggies as I can into whatever I'm eating."

Inspired by the random bowls of shredded veggies in my fridge, today we get muffins, again.

These are so good, and you can't even tell there are veggies in them.

Seriously, when I took the picture, I thought to myself, "Did I forget to put in the beets?" because they disappeared. If you look closely, you can see tiny flecks of the zucchini, but the beets, I suppose, are a secret.

Pumpkin veggie muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix in a bowl:
1/2 c. gf flour mix
1/2 c. almond flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice*

Mix in another bowl:
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 T. light olive oil
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/2 c. shredded zucchini
1/2 c. shredded beet
1 t. fresh shredded ginger

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and scoop into a muffin tin. Top with slivered almonds and a few dried cranberries. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Tip: If you're not making a full pan of muffins, and don't own a 6-muffin pan, pour a little bit of water into the empty wells. It keeps the muffins moist and prevents the pan from warping.

*[Pumpkin pie spice:]
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t.ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

Pumpkin carrot muffins

I'm not sure how these muffins happened.

I woke up, headed creakily into the kitchen, and before I even had a few sips of coffee, my subconscious had taken over and the next thing I knew, I was looking at this:

I'm so glad my sleepy autopilot brain knows how to make muffins, because by the time I was ready for my second cup of coffee, these were ready to come out of the oven. And they are delightful.

Pumpkin Carrot Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix in a bowl:
1/2 c. gf flour mix
1/2 c. almond flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice*

Mix in another bowl:
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 T. light olive oil
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 c. shredded carrot

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and scoop into a muffin tin. Top with slivered almonds and a few dried cranberries. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

This made 5 muffins that taste like fall and have veggies in them. Win.

*[Pumpkin pie spice:]
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t.ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

Coffee cake bites with cream cheese streusel

There's nothing like a sweet treat on a Saturday morning when the sun decides to shine between the cracks in the blinds and creep around the curtains and demand that you enjoy the gloriousness.

The truth is, these muffins would be mediocre without the streusel topping. I'm not above admitting that.
This streusel is not just any streusel. It's a cream cheese streusel. Because I saw it in the fridge next to the butter and thought, "Why not?"
It's not the first time I've subbed cream cheese for butter, and once again, cream cheese enabled these mediocre muffins to become special. [With the help of our friends sugar and flour, of course.]

Coffee Cake Bites with Cream Cheese Streusel

1 c. GF flour mix
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. milk
2 T. light olive oil (or melted butter)
1/2 t. vanilla

Streusel topping:
Using forks or a pastry blender, crumble together:
1/2 block cold cream cheese
2 T.  GF flour mix
1/4 c. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
In another bowl, mix the eggs, milk, and oil.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter into a greased mini muffin pan.
Top with the streusel.
Bake 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Makes 24 mini muffins

Cinnamon Roll Muffins

I made these because Hubs got cinnamon rolls this morning and I didn't want to feel left out, but I didn't feel like going through the process of making actual cinnamon rolls. Or Waffles.

All it takes is a small variation of a basic muffin recipe to get that same taste.

Cinnamon Roll Muffins

1 c. GF flour mix
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. milk
2 T. light olive oil (or melted butter)
1/2 t. vanilla

Topping:
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon.
In another bowl, mix the eggs, milk, and oil.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter into muffin pans- with muffin liners or without; if not make sure you grease.
Sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar topping.

Bake 20-25 minutes.
Let them cool.
If you're feeling the sugary need, top with cream cheese frosting. (I used store-bought this time but there's a recipe on the Waffles link.)

Makes 6 muffins. Or cupcakes?

Blueberry muffins, revisited

Blueberries are on sale in the grocery store. That can only mean one thing: There are blueberries in my fridge that are about to start growing mold.

Enter: Blueberry waffles for breakfast, and Blueberry muffins this afternoon.

I've made blueberry muffins before, using this recipe, but I made them recently and they didn't turn out quite right. Not sweet enough, and too crumbly. This is possibly due to the flour blend I'm using now versus way back then. The curse of the gluten free flours has struck again.
Never fear! I fixed it!

Here's the new version that worked for me, using my preferred flour blend:

Blueberry Muffins

1 c. GF flour mix
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. milk
2 T. light olive oil (or melted butter)
1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried (or more)

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
In another bowl, mix the eggs, milk, and oil.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the blueberries.
Pour the batter into muffin pans- with muffin liners or without; if not make sure you grease.
Bake 20-25 minutes. Let them cool (or you'll burn your mouth- speaking from experience here), then enjoy!

Makes 6 muffins.

Strawberry muffins

I'm not going to lie, I make a pretty darn good gluten free muffin, and this is one of my favorite recipes.
Great with coffee or tea, and just sweet enough.

Strawberry muffins

1 c. gluten free flour (1/3 c. each sorghum & brown rice flour, potato starch, pinch xanthan gum)
1/2 T. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
2 T. brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. milk
2 T. oil
1/4 c. strawberry jam or preserves
dash of cinnamon

Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients together, then combine. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or so. (Or, use your Xpress Redi Set Go and bake for 5 minutes)
They will be done with a toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 6 muffins

Gluten Free Carrot Cake Bites

Now that it's warmer I will be mostly using my toaster oven and Xpress Redi Set Go. It's one of those as-seen-on-tv things that I actually use a lot. No sense in heating up my oven if I don't have to, and as a bonus I get a lot of mini-treats. (The mini-muffin insert is much easier to clean than the larger pan.)

I've never made carrot cake, and have always liked it. It seemed intimidating, but it's really not. It's just a glorified muffin recipe, and the hardest part is shredding the carrots- not hard at all. Rather than make these into a dessert with that glorious cream cheese frosting, I decided these would be best for a lightened up for a mid-morning snack.

Gluten Free Carrot Cake Bites

1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/4 t. vanilla
1 c. shredded carrots (about 3 carrots)


3/4 c. gluten free flour (1/4 cup each brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch)
1/8 t. xanthan gum
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. baking soda

Optional: 1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat your oven to 350 or turn on your Xpress Redi Set Go. Mix the wet ingredients in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Regardless of what kind of pan you're using, grease it well. There is no oil in these muffins and they will stick without it. Spoon the batter into mini-muffin cups and bake for 5-6 minutes.

When they're done, turn them out onto a cooling rack. After they've cooled for a few minutes, dust with powdered sugar.

Makes appx 18 mini muffins

Pumpkin gingerbread muffins

The inspiration for this post comes from Oh She Glows. To be honest it was the spiced buttercream that caught my eye- what a great idea.

The muffins have a stronger gingerbread taste and a subtle pumpkin taste, and the pumpkin helps keep them moist.

The recipe was modified a bit to make it gluten free and use what I had on hand.

Again, the original vegan recipe is here.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins

1 c. plus 2 T. canned pumpkin
2/3 c. loosely packed brown sugar
1/4 c. light olive oil
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg, beaten
1 1/3 c. gluten free flour mix (See sidebar -->)
1/2 T. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. ground cloves

Preheat your oven to 350.

Mix the wet ingredients together in a bowl. Use the same measuring cup for the oil and the molasses- after you measure the oil, the molasses will slide out easily. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and combine the wet & dry ingredients well.
*Don't forget your xanthan gum. I did, and they turned out a little crumbly.

Scoop into lined muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

These muffins are very tasty on their own.
To get more of a dessert taste, top with spiced frosting.
I combined cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, a ton of pumpkin pie spice, and a tiny bit of milk to make an icing/ glaze. For an actual recipe for spiced buttercream, see the original recipe at Oh She Glows.

Since the recipe doesn't use an entire can of pumpkin, expect another pumpkin recipe soon!

Oat and Cranberry Muffins

The other day I found myself checking out a blog called Frills in the Hills. I saw this muffin recipe and HAD to make it.

photo courtesy of Frills in the Hills- hers just looked SO pretty.

So I converted this recipe to be gluten free, and it turned out really well. I love the oats in the batter- they make it more of a rustic texture. You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients
1 c. gluten free flour (1/3 c. each of brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch. Plus 1/8 t. xanthan gum)
1/2 t. baking powder
1/8 t. baking soda
1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup craisins or dried cranberries, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes
2 T. light olive oil
1 egg
1/2 + 1/3 cup buttermilk or yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt)
1/2 t. vanilla


Preheat your oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients together, and mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Mix them all together. Drain the cranberries and mix those in, too.

Pour the batter into 6 lined muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Coffee Cake Muffins

Coffee cake muffins happened today. Moist, cinnamon-y muffins. With pretty liners I found in the back of the cabinet- left over from my sister's bridal shower.

Used this as a base and modified it to use up whatever I had lingering in the fridge. Also, I find that gluten free muffins don't dry out as quickly when you substitute applesauce for oil and throw some yogurt in there.

Coffee cake muffins:

1/3 c. each brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch
1/8 t. xanthan gum
2 T. flaxseed meal
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon

1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. vanilla or plain yogurt
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. lemon juice
1/3 c. applesauce
1 egg

"Streusel" topping: 2 T. almond meal (take some almonds and grind those babies up), 1 T. sugar, 1/4 t. cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat the egg in a separate bowl, and mix in the rest of the wet ingredients. Combine the wet & dry ingredients. Spoon into a lined muffin tin (makes 6).

Since there's no oil in the batter they like to stick, so spritz each paper liner with cooking spray before filling. Sprinkle the almond/sugar mixture over the top and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

cherry coconut muffins

Perfect for an afternoon off work when there's no food in the cupboards.

Found cherries and coconut in the freezer, and it seemed too easy.

And in case you're wondering, heck no my oven did not turn on. I used the Xpress Redi Set Go I got last Christmas, and I wanted it for this very reason.

Cherry Coconut Muffins (mini!)

1/3 c. each sorghum, brown rice flour, and corn starch
1 t. baking powder
1/8 t. baking soda
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 c. milk
1 T. light olive oil
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. each chopped cherries and shredded coconut

Mix it all in a bowl.
I spooned the batter into the mini muffin insert, topped with some more coconut, and cooked for 5 minutes.

For conventional ovens, preheat to 350 and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. For regular muffins, 10-15 minutes.

The cherries give the batter a funny color, but they taste great, with a hint of every flavor.

Udi's muffins

I would like to start by saying that I generally do not care for blueberry muffins. I know... but I don't.

However, I really like the blueberry muffins from Udi's.

Kroger had them on sale a few weeks ago, so I tried them, the cinnamon rolls, and the double chocolate muffins.

My favorite turned out to be the ones I thought I'd like the least- blueberry. I just love the texture and the flavor. I pop them in the freezer at work and take one out for my "second breakfast" and they keep me going for a couple more hours.

The chocolate muffins were ok. They were really sweet; more brownie-like than muffin-like, and they were kind of dry. Overall I didn't care for them as a second breakfast, but as a dessert they were ok.

I thought I'd like the cinnamon rolls the best, but it turns out I liked them the least. They were very tough, so that I couldn't cut them with a fork, and the flavor was so-so. Definitely not worth the calories. Homemade are ten times better.

I did not get to try the lemon ones included on this page, but judging from their other muffins, if I found them I'd try them.

Banana oatmeal nut muffins

This is one of those recipes that you kinda make up when you're bored and procrastinating and need to use stuff up, like a packet of oatmeal and a really ripe banana.

Makes a hearty muffin that's just barely sweet. You might want to add another 1/4 to 1/2 c. sugar if you're feelin' a sweet muffin. The banana flavor is subtle because I only had one banana, so feel free to add another one and leave out the applesauce. You can't really tell there's oatmeal in there; it blends right in. It's got kind of a crunchy top and a soft middle. Perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee or as a snack.

Banana Oatmeal Nut Muffins

1/2 c. brown rice flour
1/2 c. corn starch
1/2 c. sorghum flour
1/2 t. xanthan gum

1/8 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon

1 packet Gluten Freeda's Banana Maple Flax oatmeal, made according to package directions (or 1/3 c. cooked GF oatmeal. I like Gluten Free Oats)

1 egg, slightly beaten
1 T. olive oil
1 T. maple syrup
1 T. unsweetened applesauce
1 mashed, really ripe banana
1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Mix the dry ingredients together, then mix the wet ingredients together. Mix everything into a big bowl, then add the walnuts. Put into muffin tins either greased or lined with princess frog liners. (They don't show up in the picture but they're so CUTE!) Sprinkle a few oats on top just to make them pretty.

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the tops start to brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 12 muffins.

chocolate chip muffins

Hey, I'm alive! It's been a while since I've posted. Semester 1 of CLS school is DONE! I gotta say, it was a lot harder than I thought it'd be, but I did it. (As a matter of fact, I did quite well.) Now that we get a break, I get to get back into the kitchen (and catch up on sleep). Hopefully I come out with something tasty.

Since I -am- a student and therefore broke, I plan on charming my friends with delicious baked GF goods and a few other homemade items that I can't post yet- otherwhise they'll know what they're getting for Christmas... if anyone reads this blog anymore, haha.

I really wanted cinnamon rolls this morning but I was too lazy to make them. They are a little bit of extra work, but when I actually get to doing it, it's not that bad. It's the getting started part that's always hard.

Muffins seemed easier, but my sweet tooth was aching. Easy solution? Throw in some chocolate chips. I figured I'd go easy on the chocolate, but if you're feeling it, add as much as you want. They're pretty yummy.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 egg
1/4 c. milk, non-dairy milk, or water
2 T. oil (or applesauce)
1/2 t. vanilla

1/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. brown rice flour
1/3 c. corn starch
1/3 c. sorghum flour
1/4 t. xanthan gum
1 t. baking powder
1/8 t. baking soda
1/8 t. salt
1/4- 1/3 c. chocolate chips

Beat the egg in a bowl, and mix in the rest of the wet ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients together, then mix them into the wet ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. When a toothpick comes out clean, they're done.

Makes 5-6 muffins.

-Really good with a cup of coffee, a purring kitten, and a magazine that has nothing to do with hematology or chemistry :o)

123 Gluten Free: Blueberry Muffins

This post is brought to you by 123 Gluten Free: Meredith's Marvelous muffin/ quickbread mix. Chris was buying some of those manly protein powder things online, and the website he was using carried these. Being awesome, he added this to his order. Then, for weeks he teased me by saying he had a surprise for me but he didn't have it yet. Gah the suspense!

When it finally arrived, it was in the middle of a very busy week so the package sat on my counter. This morning was very un-busy and there just happened to be a huge thing of blueberries in the fridge, so I decided to try it.

There are directions for both banana bread and blueberry muffins on the package, with online instructions for pumpkin, carrot, or zucchini bread.

I deviated from the directions a bit. I didn't have 1/2 c. butter, so I used about 1/4 c. butter, and filled in the rest with sunflower oil and applesauce. I also didn't use milk. I used water instead.

The package directions say to bake for 2o minutes, but mine got a little brown. If you make these, check them at around 15.

How was the muffin? Good texture and overall flavor, but I felt it was missing something. They tasted just a tad bland. I think using orange juice in place of the milk would yield more flavor, and I think the recipe could have used a tad more blueberries than the 1 1/4 c. called for.

Would I finish the batch? Definitely, and I'd even share them with company. That's the real test of a recipe, you know.

Would I purchase the mix again? Probably not, but only because it's so easy to make muffins from scratch.

It's a good quality product, and I'd recommend it to beginners or people who don't like making muffins from scratch.