Strawberry Banana Muffins (grain-free : gluten-free : nutrient-dense : primal)

As we near the end of strawberry season, I've made these strawberry banana muffins for my daughter, who still does best avoiding grains most of the time. This recipe is grain-free, and uses a combination of coconut flour with ground nuts.  A bit of lemon zest adds a bright flavor to these delicious muffins.

Strawberry Banana Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

• 1/2 cup butter, preferably from grassfed cows 
• 1/4 cup mild-flavored honey
• 4 eggs, preferably from pastured hens
• 1&1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract 
• 1/4 cup sucanat
• 3/4 tsp celtic sea salt 
• zest from 1 lemon (about 1 tsp packed zest)
• 2/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup ground crispy pecans or almonds (or use almond meal)  
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 2/3 cup chopped strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Line a muffin tin with paper cups.  (I prefer If You Care Unbleached Baking Cups because the muffins do not stick to the sides of the cups.)
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. Meanwhile, combine the eggs, sucanat, salt, vanilla extract, almond extract, and lemon zest in a large bowl.  (A microplane zester works fantastically to zest the lemon.) If using an immersion blender, pulse a few times to combine. Otherwise, mix to combine with a whisk or mixer.
4. Add the honey to the butter and stir slightly.  Pour this mixture into the wet ingredients and blend well with immersion blender or mixer.
5. Measure out the coconut flour.  Since coconut flour clumps, it will need to be sifted if you are not using an immersion blender.
6. Combine the coconut flour with the ground nuts and baking soda in a medium bowl.  Whisk or mix to combine.
7. Pour the dry mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients.  Use an immersion blender or mixer to thoroughly combine all ingredients, making sure there are no lumps.  (Since coconut flour does not contain gluten, there is no worry of over-mixing it). The mixture will get quite thick. 
8. Stir in the mashed banana.  Then stir in the strawberries.
9. Scoop the muffin batter into the paper cups.  I like to use a 3-Tb scoop for this, but you could just use a large spoon.
10. Bake muffins in 325 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes, until muffins are set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 
11. Remove from oven and cool a bit before serving. Serve with a small pat of butter and a glass of raw milk.

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