Paleo Muffins ???

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 12:03 am

Leah, Just add extra sweetener - agave, honey, date syrup. Or add soaked prunes, apricots, more raisins, all of which give the sweetness without the white sugar added to the coconut.

garina · Post by **garina** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 3:30 pm

I just made the Morning Glory Muffins substituting pumpkin for the carrots. I love these better than the ones with carrots, if that is possible! DH tasted them, also, and loved them. They are so moist and so perfect.

I actually did not use muffins tins; instead used a 9x9 corning ware bowl, as I was pressed for time, and it was so much easier and the cleanup is practically nonexistent. I cut them in squares to freeze.

I only used 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup coconut (sweetened), only 2 cups of almond flour. I did have to bake them for 50 minutes on 350 degrees, though. I did put in the 2T of honey.

DH likes anything sweet, so he really stays away from the muffins I bake, but he loves these.

Thanks Sheila.

garina

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:01 pm

Bringing up the rear here.....I finally made the paleo muffins.

In addition to the cinnamon, baking soda, coconut oil, salt, and eggs, I used 1 cup pecan flour and 1 cup coconut flour, 2 1/2 cups of grated zucchini and 1/2 cup of cooked sweet potato, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup raisins, 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, NO honey or vanilla (am sensitive to it as per MRT), and 1/2 tsp of lemon zest. They were yummy - plenty sweet for me and quite moist. This is undoubtedly one of the most forgiving recipes of all time. Thanks to all who gave advice about less flour, lemon zest, etc.

Love,

Polly

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 3:43 pm

Polly,
Another GREAT additive is prunes. If you get wet ones they heed no soaking, but if they are (typically) dry, soak them overnight with some lemon. They make the muffins very moist, and add a great sweetness.

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 5:24 pm

Hi Lesley,

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, MRT showed I am sensitive to plums, so I guess prunes are out for me. I seem OK with dates, though, so I'll try them next time. I love lemon flavoring and was pleased to see your recommendation for lemon zest.

Thanks again.

Love,

Polly

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 7:10 pm

I too love lemon, and use lemon liberally. Dates would also be good in these muffins, though I am not sure they will be good for moisture.

I had a whole lot of mangoes the other day, and made muffins with pureed Mango and some chopped pieces, shredded coconut, coconut flour (could have used an extra egg) and chestnut flour.
The mangoes are so sweet lately that I needed very little sweetener.
And I used lemon zest in them.
They are delicious.

Christine. · Post by **Christine.** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 7:57 pm

Ok, ok. I'm not much of a sweet / muffin person ( what I really miss is cheese melted on sourdough toast) but all this talk made me go out and buy almond flour and real maple sugar sugar. ( very concentrated). I got the almond flour and maple sugar at Trader Joes. I am going to try an amalgamation of your recipes. The mad scientist bakes tomorrow. I hope it works!
Christine

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:25 pm

Lesley,

I think I made out OK in the moisture dept. because of the shredded zucchini - it was really wet! The mangoes sound yummy - I love them but unfortunately am sensitive to them. What do you think about fresh, local, pureed peaches? They probably wouldn't be quite as moist but should work, I think. I need to test chestnuts - it would be nice to have another safe nut flour. Where do you buy yours?

Christine,

Will look forward to your report! Happy baking! This recipe is so cool because it's easy to substitute in order to accomodate individual food sensitivities.

Hugs,

Polly

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:59 pm

I remembered after posting you are sensitive to mangoes (

)! I think peaches should do just as well. If you use ONLY coconut flour you will need extra egg(s). I am going to try to do so for a friend, who is sensitive to all nuts except coconut.

I order chestnut flour online.
This is one site:
http://nuts.com/nuts/chestnuts/flour.ht ... QgodtGQA5w

There are lots of others.

I bought an electric grater and can now make my own flours. I made walnut flour, and am going to make hazelnut flour for my next batch. I am thinking hazelnuts and cherry muffins. What do you think?

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:29 am

Lesley,

What is an electric grater? Is it different from a blender or food processor? For this recipe, how many eggs would be needed if I used 2 cups of coconut flour only? That would be a nice option. I tried to order some nut flours online but the site I went to required a $50 minimum order. Hazelnuts and cherry sound like a great combo. Once again, I am sensitive to hazelnuts - boy, does this sensitivity stuff get borrring. Are you thinking fresh or dried cherries?

Love,

Polly

Sheila · Post by **Sheila** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:44 am

Good Morning, Polly. I love all of the paleo improvisations our group has come up with.

Regarding your question about how many eggs to use when using only coconut flour, IMHO, start with 2 eggs and check the texture of mixture. It should be thick, but not too thick, and moist. If it is dry, add perhaps another egg or egg white and/or additional moist fruit or vegetable. These things are very forgiving but they are based on nut flours which are pretty dense. I think they are so successful because they are so moist and dense.

Let us know how they turn out. These muffins are really fun and a life saver on a trip. I took 6 of them with me to my sons house and they kept me from being hungry when the family was eating pancakes, snacks etc. I even took one to the movies and didn't miss popcorn. I only lost a lb. on the trip because of the muffins.

Sheila W

Christine. · Post by **Christine.** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:11 pm

Hmmmm
The experimental muffins taste really good....a bit dense but nice and yummy. Thank you all for the inspiration and suggestions.
Fat Christine (well, maybe not fat yet)

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:40 pm

Polly.
This is the grater.
http://www.everythingkitchens.com/cuisi ... MG-20.html

Nuts are oily, so turn into nut butter very fast in a blender. With the grater the flour is nice and light, and not oily at all, so the muffins are much lighter.

When I was making juice today I was thinking that the pulp could also be used in the muffins. They would give another dimension of flavor and moisture.

Amazing what you can do when you understand this basic recipe.

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:16 pm

I just finished the last muffin of the last batch I made

, so tomorrow I'll have to bake another batch. I used to double up on the apples, since I can't eat carrots or zucchini (MRT). Then I made them with yellow squash, and it made them quite a bit moister, but more crumbly. With all the ideas here, I'll have to ponder which ingredients to use in tomorrow's muffin bake

. I never thought baking could be so simple :).

For you guys who have the paleo comfort foods cookbook - are there any other recipes you have tried and enjoyed? I have made the p, b and j pork roast a few times and love it.

Love,
Kari

Sheila · Post by **Sheila** » Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:47 pm

Can you tolerate pumpkin, Kari? I've made carrot, zucchini, pumpkin, apple and banana muffins. I think my favorite are the pumpkin. I tried some right out of the oven and didn't care for them and said so here. However, after cooling and freezing, they are my favorites. They are so moist, just the right amount of sweetness, yummmm perfect. If you can't tolerate pumpkin, cooked sweet potato would work in its place. I still have a variety in the freezer and try to have a different flavor each time I have one. I think I will stick to the pumpkin and apple/banana combo in the future. I've also added pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts to different batches as well as unsweetened coconut and sweetened coconut. The unsweetened is better, I think. I will try some of the variations by other posters with the exception of prunes. Those would not work for me. ;-))

If I can find nut flour other than almond flour for a reasonable price, I'll give that a try also. I'm aware that eating the same thing every day is not good for the LEAP diet. That is a big struggle for me. It is hard enough finding things that are paleo and don't cause a problem. My diet is so limited it isn't possible to do the LEAP yet.

Sheila W