This morning my husband loaded suitcases, snacks, a sleepy son, a scatterbrained wife, and two large travel mugs of coffee into the car. We were off on a whirlwind visit to my in-laws in Arkansas.
It took 6 hours of cartoons and Wiggles cds to get there.
Homemade apple muffins made it possible.
I try to be easy on myself when it comes to travel food. I plan ahead as much as I can, and pack healthy snacks. But sometimes life gets too busy/crazy, so if we need to stop at a gas station along the way, so be it (I can track down healthy foods in most gas stations, including bananas, apples, water, dried fruit, milk, granola bars, nuts and more…).
But I lucked out this week in that I was testing a number of muffin recipes already (new book coming along!), so I had made–and frozen, these beauties several days ahead of time. Perfect for grabbing and stowing in the car for our trip!
What makes these muffins a bit different is that, not only are they healthy and naturally gluten-free, they are also grain-free. I have several friends with children who cannot eat most grains, so it’s exciting to explore the possibilities of baking with grain-free flours.
These apple muffins are made with a combination of two such flours: coconut flour and almond flour. They are so delicious! Moist and fragrant, they are absolutely irresistible! Loading them up with apples and cinnamon made them an instant favorite with both Kevin and Nick.
Both coconut flour and almond flour have a natural sweetness, so, in general, it is possible to use much less sweetener when using either, or both, for baking. Hooray! Perfect for everyone in the family.
These made great travel muffins, too–not crumbly (for the adults, at least; there were substantial crumbs in the backset by Nick! :)) I know you are going to love these!
- 1 cup PLUS 3 tablespoons almond flour (I used blanched almond flour)
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil of your choice (e.g., safflower, melted coconut or avocado)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup coarsely grated tart-sweet apples (e.g., Gala, Braeburn)
- 1 cup peeled, coarsely chopped apples
- Optional: coarse raw sugar, for sprinkling on top (skip if strictly Paleo)
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line 8 cups of a standard muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk the almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; Add the eggs, oil, maple syrup and grated apples, stirring until well blended. Stir in the chopped apples.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared cups.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown, tops appear dry and a toothpick inserted near the center of a muffin comes out with only moist crumbs attached.
- Cool in pan, set on a cooling rack for 15 minutes, before removing from the pan.
Oh my goodness! These are the best muffins I have ever made. Thanks so much, Camilla!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have made it several times (with pears, too). My son cannot eat gluten, and we are following a Paleo. These are great for dessert, too!