Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Comfort Food: Plain, Gluten-Free Muffins



When I found out I needed to give up gluten, at first it didn't seem so bad.  I don't care for sandwiches anyway.

But.

Never to eat pizza with hot, crusty, chewy crust again . . . Seriously.  I never even liked pizza crust until I couldn't have it.

Burgers.  The last time I had a "burger" I was at Culver's, and I ordered it without a bun.  It wasn't much good.

And then I started to miss simple things, like homemade jelly and jam.  Jelly and jam are not much good on rice cakes.  Nothing is much good on rice cakes.

I don't like gluten-free bread.  It tastes funny.  Also, my system responds badly to the rice flour they put in gluten-free baked goods.  Ugh.

Mild depression set in as I realized that I was not quite as "up" for a lifetime of sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice and salad as I had originally thought I was.

Then I discovered coconut flour and a whole new world opened up to me.  I started developing rice-free, gluten-free recipes that I could enjoy.

Yes, enjoy!

The muffin recipe below uses oats.  Since I have neither an allergy nor Celiac's Disease, I use plain old oats from the grocery store.  If you have a severe gluten intolerance, you should (1) make sure you can actually have oats, and (2) buy gluten-free oats prepared in a gluten-free facility.

This is what my muffins look like right before I remove them from the oven.

A perfect, golden brown muffin top.

Cooling on the rack.

Like a sheep to the slaughter.

Ahhhhhh.  Yes!  I can put butter and jelly on this wonder!

A close-up of this beauty.

I can't eat just one.  I always have to have two.

A warm muffin with melty almond butter.  
Because I can't have peanut butter, I am thankful for almond butter.



The recipe:

Plain Muffins, Gluten-Free

1 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup oil (I use grapeseed)
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup coconut flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Place 12 cupcake liners into a 12 count muffin tin.  Preheat your oven to 400F.  Put oats into your blender and blend until fine.  Add to blender: oil, milk, eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla.  Put coconut flour and baking powder into your sifter, and sift directly into the blender.  Blend thoroughly, scraping sides of blender (turn it off when you are scraping).  Pour batter directly from blender into lined muffin tins.  Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, cool on rack.  Best served warm.








1 comment:

Hope T. said...

These look so perfect, Ruth. I still say that with your cooking skills, you could be a caterer. I have friends who have a gluten-free bakery (nowhere near where I live, unfortunately) and they do very well with it. Gluten-free is everywhere now. I was at the ballpark with one of my sons last night and they were advertising gluten-free hot dogs!

I have been getting Against the Grain Gourmet brand hamburger rolls. They are made with tapioca and they are so flavorful. There are other products too, including pizza crust. I don't know how easy they are to find but they have a website with a product locator. againstthegraingormet(dot)com

I make oat pancakes that have ingredients similar to your muffins. I think they are better than any wheat pancakes I've had and even my picky kids love them. Your muffin recipe has given me the idea to try adding a little coconut flour to supplement the nutrition and improve consistency and flavor.