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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Grain-Free Carob Chocolate Chip Muffins

I've been trying to get away from grains as much as possible over the last year.  Between realizing I had a gluten sensitivity, to reading more and more about the negative impact of grains on insulin levels, grain consumption has been heavily monitored around our house.  Not much baking has been going on in quite some time, but I really wanted to make something that was tasty and healthy at the same time.

I happily stumbled upon a recipe for chocolate muffins (my husband felt they were like a cupcake) that were grain free and relatively low in sugar.  They're very high in protein, too.  I made a few modifications to the recipe and baked some today.  The original recipe used cocoa powder and more honey.  I decided to use carob powder instead (since it's naturally sweet without any added sugar) and cut the honey down from 1/4 cup to 2 tablespoons.  Even with the modifications, they came out great.  I honestly can't believe these don't have any flour in them.  They're quite amazing, and something I will definitely make again.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, combine the following and mix well:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of almond butter (or any nut butter)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
1 ripe banana (cut up or mashed)
3 tablespoons carob powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl a few times while mixing.  Then stir in:
1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate
1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Oil muffin tins or line with paper.  Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full with the batter and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Make 12 muffins

Note: If you don't have carob or don't like carob, simply make the following modifications:

  • Replace the carob powder with cocoa powder
  • Reduce the nut butter by 2 tablespoons
  • Increase the amount of honey by 2 tablespoons
Note: I've also successfully made these muffins with applesauce in place of the banana.  I just used about 1/2 cup of applesauce.  If you're using unsweetened applesauce, you might want to add 1 more tablespoon of honey to the mix as well.