Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins

Toast with peanut butter and honey. One of my favorite bad breakfasts in my “past life.” And then I would dream about sprinkling chocolate chips on top of THAT bad boy! I’ve learned to put aside those peanut butter-chocolate cravings but then I saw this recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins from glutenfreefix.com. OMG… These muffins hit the spot! The smell is outrageous while baking! And, they’re not overly sweet like a cupcake. They’re just right for breakfast to call them “muffins,” and go very well with a cup of coffee.

RECIPE

• 1/2 cup of coconut oil (or butter)
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup peanut butter or almond butter
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Optional: 1 bar of 70% (or higher) dark chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ F.
2. Melt together coconut oil and agave nectar in the microwave (about 20-30 seconds.)
3. Whisk in cocoa powder and peanut butter until smooth.
4. Whisk in eggs and baking soda.
5. Add in chopped chocolate pieces (if using).
6. Pour into lined or greased muffin tin.
7. Bake for 18-22 minutes. (Makes 12 muffins.)

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins

I had a couple very ripe bananas in my fruit basket so I figured it was time to bake something guilt-free. Here is a recipe for gluten-free Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins. If you’ve never baked with arrowroot powder before, then you will thank me! I love arrowroot powder. It makes cakes so moist that you forget you’re eating gluten-free.

RECIPE

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 T arrowroot powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil (melted)
• 2-3 mashed very ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup of agave nectar
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup of walnuts or pecans (toasted and chopped)
• 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips (or chopped up bar)

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line 11-12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (except for the nuts and chocolate).
3. In a blender, combine eggs, oil, bananas and nectar until smooth. Then pour into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.
4. Add nuts and chocolate.
5. Fill muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes.
6. Cool for 1 hour then enjoy.

Perfect for breakfast, brunch, as a snack or dessert!

Morning Muffin in a Mug

This Morning Muffin was all a buzz after Dr. Oz aired it on his show last February. It’s filled with guilt-free ingredients, and surprisingly, I had all the ingredients in my pantry. I love it when this happens! It’s actually very similar to my low-carb hamburger bun I posted a while ago (gluten-free, flourless, no sugar).

So I finally got around to giving it a try and it’s actually not bad. Not very sweet (because it only uses Stevia so it’s sugar-free) but pretty darn good especially when you smear it with butter and you watch it melt on contact. Mmmm! It was quite filling. I couldn’t eat the whole thing yet I wasn’t hungry at all until I realized it was already after lunch. Talk about a power muffin! And it only takes 1 minute to cook.

RECIPE

• 1/4 cup flax seed meal
• 1 tsp. of baking powder
• 1 tsp. of butter or coconut oil (Just scoop it out of the jar! No need to melt it.)
• 1/3 tsp of Stevia (or more depending on your preference)
• 2 tsp. of cinnamon
• 1 egg
• a handful of blueberries

1. Put all the ingredients in a mug and stir it well, making sure the egg and the dry ingredients are well incorporated.
2. Microwave the mug for 55-60 seconds.
3. Turn it over on a plate, slice in half, and butter generously!

For a chocolate option, substitute the cinnamon for 1 tsp. of cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp. of vanilla. Or you can check out heathereatsalmondbutter.com’s recipe. (Love her!)

Feta Cheese and Spinach Muffins

Just to break away from all the sweetness, here’s a savory Feta Cheese and Spinach Muffin from my gluten-free idol Elana Amsterdam. I love the combination of feta and spinach. These guilt-free muffins taste like the inside of a quiche without the crust. Too bad, huh? I really enjoy flaky crusts. But since there’s no crust, it’s low-carb. 🙂 You can make about 12 muffins or make these into mini muffins that you can easily pop into your mouth. They’re best fresh out of the oven! Perfect for brunch, as a side with soup, or when you feel like having a salty snack.

RECIPE

• 1-1/2 cups of almond flour
• 1 tbsp of arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of chopped fresh spinach
• 8 oz. of crumbled feta cheese

1. Preheat oven at 350˚F for regular-sized muffins or 400˚F for mini-muffins. Line muffin tin with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt and baking soda.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil and eggs.
4. Blend wet and dry ingredients together with a mixer, then fold in spinach and cheese.
5. Scoop into muffin tins. Bake for 22-27 minutes for regular-sized muffins or 6-8 minutes for mini-muffins.
6. Cool for 20 minutes, then serve.

Chocolate Walnut-Banana Bread

Banana bread always reminds me of Christmas because I had an aunt who always made banana bread and would give a loaf to everyone in the family. It was moist and delicious, and sure beat fruitcake’s butt. 🙂 I thought now that I’ve changed my eating habits that I would never be able to partake in good banana bread. But lo and behold, Comfy Belly saves the holidays! (She never disappoints.) Her recipe is so delightful. Talk about moist! So I took her recipe, altered it a bit and made it more decadent so that I can give you a guilt-free (gluten-free, dairy-free, no refined sugar, lower in carbs) Chocolate Walnut-Banana Bread. Perfect as a snack, dessert or even breakfast!

RECIPE

• 1/4 cup of agave nectar
• 3 tbsp of coconut oil (or butter, shortening, ghee)
• 2 eggs
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-1/2 cups of almond flour or almond meal
• 1 bar of 72% dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup of walnuts

1. Preheat over to 325˚F
2. In a bowl, mix agave, oil/butter, eggs and bananas until well-blended.
3. Add baking soda, salt and almond flour and mix well.
4. Add chocolate and nuts.
5. Pour batter into a bread loaf pan.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (If you’re using a muffin pan, cut the time to 20 minutes.)
7. Cool and serve as is or with a scoop of chocolate banana ice cream or another guilt-free ice cream.
8. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Muffins (or Bread)

How many times have you been to the pumpkin patch this month? With all the pumpkins around, who wouldn’t be in the mood to eat pumpkin? And I’m not even a pumpkin fan! So even though I am not a big pumpkin fan, I still managed to find a tasty, guilt-free treat that I TOTALLY LOVE! This gluten-free Pumpkin Muffins is unbelievably moist – considering it uses almond flour. It’s decadent and delicious, especially when topped with cream cheese frosting and nuts! (Scroll down to see what those babies look like.)

RECIPE

• 1 cup of pumpkin puree (canned or make your own*)
• 1/2 cup of agave nectar
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice (or cloves)
• 2 cups of almond flour
• 1/2 cup of pecans or walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 350˚ F.
2. Combine all the ingredients (in the order listed) in a bowl and blend well.
3. Bake in lined muffin tin for 20-25 minutes or in a bread pan for 1 hour. When it’s done, a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.
4. Serve warm or cool for an hour and frost with Mascarpone & Cream Cheese Frosting and top with nuts.

* Pumpkin Puree

1. Preheat your oven 350˚F.
2. Slice the pumpkin (or other squash) in half – from stem to bottom.
3. Take out the seeds.
4. Roast the pumpkin face down for about 1 hour in some water that covers the bottom of the dish. You can also steam the pumpkin. Alternatively, you can dry roast it by wrapping it in foil and placing it in the oven. That would also reduce the moisture in the puree.
5. Cool the pumpkin, peel the skin off, and puree it in a blender or food processor.

Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 2-3 tbsp agave nectar (to your taste)
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp heavy cream

1. In a mixer, combine cream cheese, agave and vanilla until well blended.
2. Whip in heavy cream until frosting is nice and thick.
3. Set aside and cool in refrigerator.
4. Frost over muffins and cakes.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

A few months ago, I read somewhere that you can substitute quinoa flour for all-purpose flour (a cup for a cup). That little bit of trivia stuck in my mind for a while. I even bought about 2 cups of quinoa flour at Whole Foods Market in hopes that one day I’ll get to try the substitution. Lo and behold, I found this recipe that I had been using as a bookmark in my Betty Crocker cookbook for years! I actually remember cutting it out of a newspaper and sticking it in between the pages. I don’t know why I kept it for such a long time. Good thing I did because these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are delicious! This recipe uses all-purpose flour and sugar so I made it guilt-free by making it gluten-free, lower carb, and sugar-free. (It’s also good enough to eat as a dessert cupcake!)

RECIPE

• 1 cup quinoa flour
• 6 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 2/3 cup Stevia in the Raw (or 6 tbsp of Stevia extract powder)
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup or 3 extra ripe mashed bananas*
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 stick of melted butter or 1/4 cup of grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips (or a chopped up a bar of 72% cacao.)
• ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

1. Preheat oven at 350˚F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine quinoa flour, flaxseed, Stevia, baking powder and salt.
3. With a mixer, combine bananas, egg, butter/oil, cream and vanilla.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients to the banana mixture with a heavy spoon or on low speed. Do not over mix.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
6. Fill each foil-lined muffin cup or greased muffin pan about 3/4 full.
7. Bake at 350 degrees 25-30 minutes.
8. Cool and eat!

* You can add a tbsp of agave nectar to your mashed bananas to add sweetness if they aren’t ripe enough.

(Makes 12 muffins)

Almond Butter Banana Nut Muffins 2.0

Yes, 2.0 because these are even better! (Well, I think they’re better. My hubby likes the first version.) At the suggestion of my Swiss cousin, she added another half a banana for extra sweetness and two more tablespoons of almond butter to make these more moist. And, they are definitely more moist!

RECIPE

• 3-1/2 ripe mashed bananas
• 6 tbsp almond butter or your favorite nut/seed butter of choice
• 1/3 cup Stevia in the Raw (or 3 tbsp of Stevia extract powder)
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cups oat flour (I used real, store-bought oat flour this time. Wow! What a difference.)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt (omit if using salted nut butter)
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips (I chopped up a bar of 85% Lindt dark chocolate.)
• ½ cup chopped pecans

1. In a large bowl, mix first 5 ingredients until creamy.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Slowly add dry ingredients to the banana mixture stirring to combine.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
5. Bake at 350 degrees 18 – 20 minutes in paper lined or greased muffin pan.

(Yields 15 muffins)

Cinnamon Bun Muffins with Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting

This is what I made last weekend! If you miss Cinnabon, here’s a guilt-free equivalent! Seriously. These Cinnamon Bun Muffins with Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting are very moist and delicious. Hits the spot if you’re craving a sticky, gooey cinnamon bun fix. There are many steps but sooooo worth it! (Scroll down to see a picture of the muffin without frosting. Still good even without the frosting.)

RECIPE

Cinnamon Topping
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp grapeseed oil (or melted butter)

1. Combine agave, cinnamon and oil/butter in a small bowl.
2. Set mixture aside.

Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 tbsp agave nectar
3 tbsp heavy cream

1. Combine cream cheese and agave in a medium bowl until well blended.
2. Whip in heavy cream until frosting is nice and thick.
3. Set aside.

Muffin Mixture
1 cup blanched almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup grapeseed oil (or melted butter)
¼ cup agave nectar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl blend together oil/butter, agave, eggs and vanilla.
3. Blend dry ingredients into wet and scoop a scant ¼ cup at a time into lined muffin cups.
4. Spoon topping onto muffins.
5. Bake muffins for 8-12 minutes at 350°F.
6. Cool muffins for 2 hours then frost with Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting.

Makes 9 muffins.

(Recipe is from Elana’s Pantry.)

Almond Butter Banana Nut Muffins

I found this guilt-free goodie, Almond Butter Banana Nut Muffins from this site (Thanks, Anthony!) which led me to HeatherEatsAlmondButter.com. (I adore this site because I do enjoy almond butter and Heather has some kickin’ recipes! You must read her amazing success story.)

By the time I post this blog, I’ve already made these muffins TWICE! (Yes, they’re that good.) They’re tasty yet not too sweet – just enough sweetness to call this a muffin vs. a cupcake. The muffins are dense and that’s because they’re packed with wholesome ingredients. So not only are they delicious, they’re nutritious, as well! My favorite part of this muffin is that although you’ve got all the healthy goodness going on in it, there’s a little burst of chocolate in every bite. Mmmm! For an extra protein boost, you can also smear the top with all-natural peanut butter. Now that’s decadent!

This recipe makes 15 cupcakes (YEAH!!!). I store them in the fridge so when I don’t have time to eat breakfast (or sometimes lunch), I can grab one of these “HEAB” muffins and I’m out the door. Keeps me full until my next meal.

RECIPE

• 3 ripe mashed bananas
• ¼ cup almond butter or your favorite nut/seed butter of choice
• 1/3 cup Stevia in the Raw
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cups oat flour (I pulsed 2 cups steel-cut oats in my food processor. What a workout! I suggest you buy oat flour or pulse rolled oats instead.)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt (omit if using salted nut butter)
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips (I chopped up a bar of 85% Lindt dark chocolate.)
• ½ cup chopped pecans

1. In a large bowl, mix first 5 ingredients until creamy.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Slowly add dry ingredients to the banana mixture stirring to combine.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
5. Bake at 350 degrees 18 – 20 minutes in paper lined or greased muffin pan.

(Yields 15 muffins)