I’m always looking for new staple healthy snacks but my criteria is not all that easy to fulfill. They need to be easy to make (no multi-day, several step, several dish recipes thanks), with ingredients I have on hand, packed with nutrients, keep well in the fridge throughout the week, satisfying, and absolutely delicious. Too much to ask? You might think so, but I have slowly been building up a repertoire of recipes that check all of these boxes. So far I’ve shared with you my banana chocolate chip muffins, super seed no bake bars, chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal bars, and no bake energy bites, to name a few of my favs. And now am I am pleased to share with you these delightfully spiced, super moist, gluten, dairy, and refined sugar free apple muffins to the list. I tested these out on my ladies bible study group (we had quite the crowd that day!), and they were met with rave reviews from the mamas AND the tots (whew!).
Gluten Free Flours
Something I’ve learned about gluten free baking, especially in bread/quick bread applications, is that it works best to have a blend of gluten free flour options to best mimic regular flour. That’s because each flour serves a different purpose. Almond flour is a high protein/fat flour that provides rich taste and crumbly texture, while oat flour is a whole grain flour that provides good structure (so the muffins aren’t TOO crumbly), as well as a good dose of fibre! Coconut flour, when used in small amounts, is a good stabilizer. Keep in mind, coconut flour absorbs a LOT of moisture, so you want to make sure the recipe has added moisture (usually in the form of eggs and/or nut milk) to compensate, and that it is used in conjunction with other whole grain or nut flours, which will provide the bulk of the flour. For the best success, unless you are very experienced baking with coconut flour, I would suggest only using it in recipes that are already formulated with it (NOT subbing it in yourself to recipes that haven’t called for it). I am very pleased to report that coconut flour really works beautifully in these muffins, they come out with the PERFECT moist, crumbly, soft texture.
Here’s a quick tip – you can easily make your own almond flour by pulsing sliced blanched almonds in a food processor or blender until finely milled. Just be careful to go slowly and stop as soon as the texture is nice and fine, as it is very easy to go overboard and end up with almond butter instead of flour (not the worst thing that could happen though, at least you have almond butter to show for it haha!). It helps to stop part way through and scrape the ground almonds out from around the blade and mix in the not ground almonds that are hanging out on the outskirts closer to the blade (with a spatula/spoon of course, never your hands near the blade!). Similarly, you can make your own oat flour by pulsing/blending quick or slow oats in a food processor (my nutri-bullet works really well for this also!). Oat flour is a bit easier to make as you don’t have to worry about over blending it and turning it into butter. If you are baking for someone who is celiac, you will want to make sure to use certified gluten free oats and be mindful of cross contamination in the process of blending, storing, scooping, etc. (lessons I’ve learned from a friend who is the mama of a celiac).
My love/hate relationship with Coconut flour
If you are new to coconut flour, here is a great article that will explain some more of its benefits. I suggest that you dip your feet in by purchasing a small bag to get you started, as most recipes only call for a small amount, and it will give you the opportunity to decide whether or not you enjoy baking with it. Funny story, when I first read about coconut flour I was totally sold on the idea of it and bought an entire FLAT of bags of it off of amazon (for the price savings, right?!). Well, knowing absolutely nothing about gluten free baking at the time, I had flop after flop with it and grew increasingly angry and frustrated. Long story short, most of the flour expired before I had a chance to use it and I stayed away from coconut flour for a long while after that. Now that I have a better understanding of it’s purpose and best intended use, I am back on the coconut flour train – with one small bag in my cupboard to fuel me, haha! If you don’t have coconut flour and aren’t interested in acquiring any, I suspect that this recipe would work without it by eliminating one of the eggs and substituting 1/2 cup of additional oat or almond flour; however I have not tested this theory out. If I get a chance to do so, I will update the recipe notes to recommend this possibility (and please let me know if you do end up trying this method how it went for you!).
Baking with Previously Frozen Apples
These muffins are especially quick and easy for me to make as I still have quite a stash of frozen peeled and sliced apples from the summer’s local orchard haul my Grandma secured for me (guys, she even peeled, sliced, and froze them for me…thanks Grandma!!!). When baking with frozen apples, you want to thaw them first (I just put them in the fridge overnight), and drain the excess water off in a colander before using. Write the measurement of apples on the bag before you freeze them, as they will shrink in volume after thawing and draining (to about the volume of cooked apples). You want to use the pre-frozen measurement!
Of course, I made a double batch (why not have an extra dozen on hand in the freezer!?), and am happy to report that the recipe doubles and freezes well. I highly suggest you do the same! Without further adieu, I am so excited to present you with the recipe for these fab muffins. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Be sure to let me know in the comments how they went for you, I love hearing what you guys think of the recipes! Have a great week 🙂
Apple Muffins (Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar Free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour (make your own by pulsing sliced blanched almonds in a food processor until finely milled)
- 1 cup oat flour (make your own by pulsing large or quick oats in a food processor until finely milled) certified gluten free if necessary, or sub with more almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk (from a can), or plain dairy free yogurt sub plain greek yogurt if not dairy free
- 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced apples
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped optional
*Optional cinnamon sugar topping:
- 2 tbsp coarse turbinado sugar, coconut sugar, or sugar of choice
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
- Whisk the dry ingredients (almond flour through to nutmeg) together in a medium sized bowl until no clumps remain.
- In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients (eggs through coconut milk). Stir in the apples. If using apples previously frozen, be sure to add thawed apples to a colander to drain any excess water before adding.
- Add the dry mix to the wet and stir until just combined. Do not over mix. Fold in the walnuts/pecans if using.
- Divide batter between the muffins cups. *Optional – combine the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle the tops of the muffins generously before baking. I usually don't bother with this step if the muffins are just for everyday, but if I'm making them for company or a special occasion, the topping makes them extra special!
- Bake at 425 for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted to the middle of a muffin comes out clean. If making a double batch, be sure to rotate pans halfway through so that they cook evenly.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. These muffins keep best stored in an airtight container in the fridge after the first day. They also freeze well!
Notes
Products Used In This Post:
This post includes affiliate links, meaning I made a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you decide to click through the links and purchase anything. These are my honest opinions and I would never recommend anything to you I didn’t absolutely love and use on a regular basis. Hope you find these lists helpful!
Coconut flour – a good stabilizing gluten free flour used in conjunction with other gluten free flours that helps provide the perfect texture to your baked goods! It is nut free and packed with fibre and natural sweetness. Be aware that coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture so it does not substitute 1:1 with other flours. Use in recipes already formulated with it!
Almond Flour – This is my favourite gluten free flour for baking. It is low in carbs and high in protein and fats, making it a great choice for low carb baking. This almond flour is made from finely milled blanched almonds which provides the optimal texture for baking. The Yupik brand has been the most reliable for baking ingredients on Amazon, it is consistently very good quality!
Oat flour – A reliable gluten free whole grain flour that provides good structure to baked goods. It is a great source of protein and dietary fibre!
