muffin madness

It’s time I told you of some plans. On Wednesday April 4th I’ll be heading out of town, gone for 9 days. Gone to meet, to hold and to fall in love with our family’s newest and littlest little. Besides nuzzling of soft powdery neck and losing my heart again, I’ll be preparing some meals, hiding-and-seeking, story-telling and tending to Ali, the  littles’ mama.

In anticipation, yesterday was largely spent in the kitchen, making muffins (and more & more muffins) and two batches of granola. We’ll all be pretty busy at breakfast time, so a bowl of yogurt topped with fruit and crunchy granola, or nutritious muffins in one hand and baby in the other will put us one leg up on the day.

GratefulGuineaPig is out of town and comes home in the afternoon of the same morning I leave. Our ships will pass in the night, so I’ve left him some muffins for breakfast too.

In the basket, Morning Glorious Muffins.

Earlier I posted a recipe for the above muffins. You can find them here.

But the muffin I’m about to share with you is ta-da   G l u t e n   F r e e.  That matters to an increasing number of eaters out there. And what I’m discovering in sampling some of these g-f recipes is that the baked goods that result are extremely Tender & surprisingly Delicious! A number of them win the taste test over traditional flour recipes, with hands tied behind their backs. (I’d have lost good money if I’d bet on that one.) Here’s one plucked from the pages of La Tartine Gourmande that I thought you’d like!

Millet, Oat & Apple Muffins

 Made with a combination of flours –

Quinoa flour – wheat-free, gluten-free, an ancient grain that adds a richness of flavor as well as a complete protein.

Millet Flour – one of the earliest cultivated grains (5,000 years ago in China!) it has a sweet flavor, high in amino acids and fiber and contributes a delicate, cake-like crumb to the baked goods it’s in. Again, easily digested and gluten-free.

Add in Gluten-Free Rolled Oats, tahini, grated apple, and this muffin packs a nutritional wallop and starts the day off right. 

Millet, Oat & Apple Muffins – Gluten-free

makes 10 muffins

• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup (80 g, 2¾ oz.) Muscovado sugar (or substitute with brown sugar)
• 2 Tablespoons tahini (sesame butter)
• 3½ tablespoons (50 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup (60 g, 2 oz) millet flour
• ¼ cup (30 g) quinoa flour
• ½ cup (50 g) rolled oats, plus more for topping
• Pinch sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (175 g, 6 oz) finely grated pink lady apples or substitute (peeled & cored)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a muffin tin with 10 paper muffin cups, or use silicone muffin molds.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar; work until the texture is creamy and light in color and has about doubled in volume. Add the tahini, melted butter and vanilla, and mix.

In a bowl, combine the millet and quinoa flours, the rolled oats, a pinch of sea salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to the batter and, using a wooden spoon, mix thoroughly but taking care not to overwork the batter. Stir in the grated apple.

Divide the muffin batter among the muffin cups. Top each with a scattering of oats. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven, invert them from the pan, and allow to cool on a wire rack.    

NOTE: These can be kept for a few days in the fridge and then reheated in the oven or microwave; or they can be frozen. 

While I’m gone, I’ll be checking in (from bed probably! 😉 ) and I do have some posts lined up in the wings to share. My blog-reading time will suffer a bit, but for the very best of causes! For my blogging friends out there, I don’t want you to think I’ve forgotten you. I couldn’t possibly! 🙂

See you in a “little” while,

love,

spree

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For a printer-friendly version of the recipe,  click here. 

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