Sunday, March 13, 2011

Blueberry Banana Muffins (GAPS-legal, grain- and gluten-free)

Coconut flour is very high in fiber, and it is also very dense.  Many eggs are required whenever baking with coconut flour, which I think is great because it results in us eating even more healthy eggs. I love the combination of blueberries and bananas together. This recipe was originally based on one from The Nourishing Gourmet, but I have changed it quite a bit.

Blueberry Banana Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
1/2 cup butter or unrefined coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
3/4 tsp celtic sea salt 
6 eggs, preferably pasture-raised
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 heaping cup frozen blueberries

  1. Melt butter or coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly.
  2. Meanwhile, combine the eggs, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a large bowl.  If using an immersion blender, pulse a few times to combine. Otherwise, mix to combine with a whisk or mixer.
  3. Add the honey to the butter (or coconut oil) and stir slightly.  Pour this mixture into the wet ingredients and blend well with immersion blender or mixer.
  4. Measure out the coconut flour.  Since coconut flour clumps, it will need to be sifted if you are not using an immersion blender
  5. Pour the coconut flour 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).
  6. Add mashed banana and mix to combine.
  7. Line a muffin tin with paper cups.  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.
  8. Add about 8-10 blueberries to the top of each muffin.  Push them down slightly into the batter. (If you try to fold the blueberries into the batter, they tend to sink to the bottom of the muffins during baking, making everything a bit soggy.)
  9. 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.  If you are in a time-crunch, you could bake them at 350 degrees initially, but you'll need to reduce the heat after a bit so they won't burn before being set in the middle.
  10. Remove from oven and cool.  
Delicious with a pat of butter and a big glass of raw milk or milk kefir!

*Time-saving tip: If you use an immersion blender to combine the ingredients, you can skip the step of sifting the coconut flour.  This also gives you less dirty dishes!

*Nourishing tip: If you're trying to limit sweets in your diet, you could easily use a bit less honey.  I wouldn't use less than 1/3 cup plus 2 Tb, though, as they get a bit bland with less than that.

This recipe is part of Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade and Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist!

18 comments:

Janice said...

I made these muffins and they are so delicious! My 5 yr old loves them. Thank you for the recipe.

Sarah Smith said...

Yay, I'm glad you guys liked them!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this recipe - sooooo delicious! We are new to the grain-free lifestyle and have been missing these kinds of treats, so these were a huge hit. Can't wait to try some of your other recipes.

Sarah Smith said...

Great, I'm glad you liked them!

Whitney said...

I made these yesterday and then this morning I split a few in half and reheated in a pan of butter...DROOL! Hit with our boys...thanks!

Martha said...

I just found this recipe and was a little afraid to try it because I had tried making coconut flour cupcakes before and they turned out really gritty from the coconut. You have the perfect ratio of eggs to flour. These were a HUGE hit, my four and one year olds love them. I'm so happy I found it and keep the coconut flour recipes coming please.

Sarah Smith said...

That's great, Martha! Thanks for letting me know.

Anonymous said...

I just made these, subbing walnuts for blueberries. They turned out beautifully. Thanks so much for the recipe.

Anonymous said...

My husband and I are officially addicted to these! Thank you for the recipe!

angel said...

Hi Sarah
I am doing my Gaps diet & wanted to know is there anything to substitute for the honey since I dont get raw honey here.

Sarah Smith said...

Hi Angel,
Honey is the only GAPS-legal sweetener. In this recipe, it does not matter if the honey is raw since it will be cooked in the oven anyway. I hope this helps.

Erica said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe! I made them tonight, and I am so excited, because they are the first GAPS-legal muffin that I have REALLY enjoyed. I mean, others are *okay*, but this tasted like a real muffin. Best of all, I was thrilled that I didn't have to make any adjustments, since so many recipes claim to be GAPS-legal and then call for baking soda or baking powder.

I was lazy and didn't sift my flour, but I didn't have any clumping problems in my Bosch mixer. :)

Sarah Smith said...

Great, Erica! Thanks for letting me know.

Nancy said...

This recipe is AMAZING! I can not tell you how tired we are of the almost identical recipes for muffins using winter squash. I stumbled on this recipe last night and made it today while my 7 year old was at school. I surprised her with them as her after school snack. She was super excited when she saw them because "oooh, they are so pretty!" And she told me they tasted as good as chocolate chip cookies. That is no small compliment! I made some minor changes. For one, I baked the muffins in a mini muffin pan that makes 24 muffins. Mini muffins are easier for my kiddo to handle. Also fit better in the snack container for school. As I was putting the frozen blueberries into the first muffin, inspiration hit and I pulled a couple of frozen strawberries out of the fridge and cut them into small pieces. I wound up making 8 blueberry, 8 strawberry, 8 with a mix of blueberries and strawberries. And you know what, the muffins were pretty! Turns out my favorite was actually the strawberry muffin (of course, it's all a close call because all 3 were yum!). This recipe would be great for 4th of July with the sort of white muffin, red strawberry pieces, and the blueberries. Even my husband liked these muffins. I may be making another batch in the next day or two because this batch is quickly disappearing.

Teresa said...

Just found your site......awesome. These muffins are great and fairly easy. Thanks.

Sarah Smith said...

Welcome Teresa! I'm glad you like them.

Unknown said...

These are great. I've made them once before with coconut oil and my 10-year-old just made them all by herself this morning using butter. Hers came out a little greasy and needed to dry on a towel, but it didn't take away, very tummy! My favorite thing about these is that they aren't crumbly at all--no mess! Love that my toddler can eat one around the house or in the car and I don't have to worry about crumbs. Because of that, favorite snack ever! However, we don't have coconut flour (only substitution made) so idk if that has something to do with them not being crumbly. :)

threadlady said...

This also gives you less dirty dishes! Sorry but "less" should be "fewer".