Black Raspberry Muffins

The raspberries and black cherry juice make these muffins so flavorful that you don't need any other sweetener, but you can add a tablespoon or two of sweetener if desired. My kids prefer them with 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of honey added.

I made both whole wheat and gluten-free versions tonight. The gluten-free ones would work best in a mini-muffin tin, but either kind works with no modifications to the recipe other than adjustments to the cooking time.

Mix together and set aside, stirring occasionally:
3 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
1/2 cup very hot water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil the cups of a muffin tin.

In a large bowl, mix together:
1 and 1/2 cups whole grain flour (I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour for one batch, and 1/2 cup each brown rice, amaranth and buckwheat for the other)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight, or see baking powder substitutes here)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine in blender:
3/4 cup black cherry juice (Knudsen's Just Juice)
2 Tablespoons oil (I used rice bran oil)
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
Flaxseed mixture

Blend berry mixture until smooth.

Add berry mixture to dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. You should have just enough liquid to moisten all of the flour mixture. Add a tablespoon or two more juice if you are still seeing dry flour after it all seems to be mixed up.

Divide batter evenly between the cups of the muffin pan.

Bake until a toothpick comes out almost clean (gluten-free batters will be more gooey in the middle, so if the muffin seems solid and has a nice firm crust it is probably done).

I baked the whole wheat mini-muffins for 18-25 minutes and the gluten-free regular-sized muffins for 30-35 minutes. I think the gluten-free muffins might cook slightly more evenly in the mini tin.

My mini-muffin tin has 24 cups and takes the same amount of batter as a regular-sized 12-cup pan.

Carrot-Orange Mini Muffins

Kai requested a vegetarian recipe using vegetables, so I decided to try making carrot muffins for breakfast this morning. The kids love them.

These muffins are a great way to get children (and adults!) to eat their vegetables. Feel free to substitute other types of flour or sweeteners.

Mix together and set aside, stirring occasionally:
4 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
1/2 cup very hot water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil the cups of a mini-muffin pan.

Wash, peel and slice enough carrots to make 1 cup.

Combine in blender:
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons orange juice (I used Florida's Natural)
2 Tablespoons oil (I used rice bran oil)
2 Tablespoons agave nectar or other sweetener (optional: increase orange juice by a tablespoon or two if you decide to leave this out)
1 cup sliced carrots
Flaxseed mixture

Blend until smooth.

In a large bowl, mix together:
1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight, or see baking powder substitutes here)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional: You could probably substitute 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ginger if allergic to cinnamon, or just leave the spice out, but I have not tested this)

Add carrot mixture to dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. You should have just enough liquid to moisten all of the flour mixture. Add a tablespoon or two more orange juice if you are still seeing dry flour after it all seems to be mixed up.

Divide batter evenly between the cups of the mini-muffin tin.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

My mini-muffin tin has 24 cups and takes the same amount of batter as a regular-sized 12-cup pan. You could probably bake these muffins in a regular tin and just cook them a little longer.

If you like a stronger orange flavor, try adding a little bit (1/2 to 1 tsp) of grated orange peel (not recommended if allergic to corn, as the outsides of fruits are often treated with corn derivatives).

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Mix together dry ingredients:

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup King Arthur traditional whole wheat, 1/2 cup whole barley flour, 1/2 cup tapioca flour. If using a gluten-free flour such as rice or amaranth, I suggest using 1/3 to 1/2 the total amount of tapioca flour.)
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 4 tsp lemon juice or cider vinegar)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp turbinado sugar or C & H brown sugar

In another container, blend together

1 Tbsp flaxseed meal mixed with 3 1/2 Tbsp hot water & heated until gelled
3 Tbsp oil (I used grapeseed oil)
1 cup water or your favorite milk substitute

Make a hollow in the top of the dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients all at once and quickly mix just until barely blended.

Stir in approximately 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Enjoy Life chocolate chips, or the fruit or nuts of your choice (optional).

Spoon into oiled muffin pan, filling cups about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins (free of gluten & most allergens)

This is a recipe I came up with tonight to use some of our pumpkin bounty. These muffins are egg-free, gluten-free, corn-free, vegan and non-dairy. The flaxseed takes the place of eggs and oil.

The flavor and texture are quite good, but slightly too sweet for my taste. I might try it with 1/3 cup of honey next time, adding a tablespoon or two of water if needed.

You could substitute 1 cup of any kind of gluten-free flour for the rice flour, or 2 cups of gluten-containing flour for the rice and tapioca flours. Sweet or glutinous rice flour should work as a substitute for the tapioca flour.

Brown rice syrup, agave nectar, or another sweetener should be substituted for the honey if you will be feeding the muffins to a child under 1 year of age. It's debatable whether baking destroys any potential botulism spores in honey.

If you want less of a pumpkin pie/gingerbread flavor, you can leave out some of the spices and just include the cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin pan.

Blend dry ingredients:
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
3/4 tsp cream of tartar (substitute 2 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar added to the wet ingredients if allergic to grapes)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice (can substitute cloves)

Beat together:
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbs ground flax seed, mixed with 3 Tbs hot water and cooked until gelled (you can whip this when cooled to give the muffins more lift, if desired)

Add to honey mixture:
1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree, or 1 cup mashed or canned pumpkin plus 1/4 cup water

Quickly mix honey/pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients, stirring just until there are no large lumps

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

Pumpkin Muffins

All three of my kids devoured these muffins and asked for more. They are really good--moist, flavorful but not too spicy, and tasty but not too sweet.

Pumpkin Gems
from Soups & Muffins by Sue Gregg (Eating Better Cookbooks)

"These are great for snack or dessert as well as for meals. Good hot or cold."

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AMOUNT: 10 large or 12 medium
Oven: 350 degrees preheated
Bake: 20 to 25 minutes

1. Spray muffin pan with no-stick cooking spray (or grease with oil or shortening--I used non-hydrogenated palm kernel oil shortening)

2. Blend together thoroughly with wire whisk in large mixing bowl:
1 egg (or 2 egg whites, or 1/4 cup egg substitite)
1/3 cup honey (you could substitute another sweetener)

3. Blend in:
1 cup mashed pumpkin
1/4 cup water

4. Blend dry ingredients together in separate bowl
2 cups whole wheat flour (or whatever type of flour you prefer--you may need to adjust liquid amounts for other types)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I substituted rolled oats and added a bit more liquid)

5. Blend dry ingredients into liquid ingredients just until mixed. Do not overmix!

5. Fill muffin cups almost full. Fill any empty cups half full of water.

7. Bake at 35 degrees for 20 minutes.

8. Cool muffins in pan for 5 to 10 minutes for easy removal with slight tug on side of each muffin.

I had already pureed my baked pumpkin with enough water to make it work in the blender. So instead of using mashed pumpkin and water, I just used pumpkin puree without adding water. Since I was substituting rolled oats for the nuts, I put in 1 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree--oats absorb more liquid than nuts do.

I heaped the measuring spoon on the cinnamon a bit and put in just a bit less nutmeg than it called for--maybe 1/4 teaspoon less--to cater to my family's tastes.

I baked them in a mini bundt pan instead of a muffin tin, so the recipe made 6 baby bundt cakes. They really did pull off the sides of the pan with a tug as the recipe said. I tipped them on their sides to allow steam to escape while they cooled, so they wouldn't get soggy.

Then I refrigerated them in zippered plastic bags and reheated them for breakfast this morning. They were quite good reheated. I think they would freeze well, too.

The muffins are fabulous. We ate the entire batch, and I'm going to have to make a double batch next time if I want any to freeze.