Almond Flour Berry Muffins

Happy New Year!  I haven’t been very active in the past year on here, but I am trying to update you all with new recipes this year (cue New Years Resolutions)!  Or at least until spring, when my seasonal job starts back up again.  The majority of this years recipes are going to look a little different: I am focusing on healthier baking options.  There are two reasons for this; one is more obvious, for health.  The other is because baking with less commonly used ingredients tends to be more of a challenge.  For example, almond flour is a substitute for all-purpose flour and acts much differently even though it might seem it should be the same.  If this sounds interesting to you, read on to learn about why this is!

We’re starting 2020 with high protein, mostly healthy Almond Flour Berry Muffins!  Since the summer of 2019 I have increased my physical activity a lot; especially within the last 3 months.  With increased activity I have been trying to eat healthier too, which can be VERY hard for a pastry chef, trust me!  But that’s where I try to curb my sweet tooth craving with healthier versions, such as these muffins.  Instead of eating a muffin that is basically just a cupcake without frosting for breakfast, these almond flour muffins have a ton of protein from the almond flour and eggs and fiber from the fruit!

When baking with almond flour, you need to increase the amount of eggs used.  Regular all-purpose flour would act as the structure of the muffin because it contains gluten which literally holds the baked good together.  However, almond flour is almonds that are ground up into tiny pieces and used as a flour substitute.  Since almond flour is just ground up nuts, it doesn’t have gluten and doesn’t effectively provide the same amount of structure as all-purpose flour does.  That’s where eggs step in.  Eggs bind ingredients together.  The proteins in the eggs set which provide stability in the muffins.  Together eggs and almond flour help to make a muffin similar to an all-purpose flour muffin but with substitutes like this, the muffins are not going to be an exact copy of a gluten-full berry muffin, just something to keep in mind!

Another awesome thing about this recipe is that these muffins can be changed however you desire.  I used coconut milk, but feel free to use any nut milk, oat milk or even dairy milk if you want.  Also, instead of berries you can use chocolate chips or just blueberries!  These muffins are great for anyone wanting to have a quick breakfast or snack on the go and feel full from it!

Almond Flour Berry Muffins

• 2 1/2 cups / 286 g almond flour (I used Bob’s Redmill Super Fine Almond Flour)
• 1/2 cup / 100 g sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/3 cup / 57 g canola oil (or coconut oil)
• 1/3 cup / 82 g coconut milk (or nut milk, oat milk or dairy)
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup mixed berries

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line 12 muffin cups with liners.
2. In a large bowl, add almond flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Whisk together and set aside.                                                                                             
3. In a smaller bowl, add oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla.  Whisk together and add to dry ingredients.             
4. Add berries and mix completely.                                                             
5. Scoop muffin mix into liners.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of muffin comes out clean!

And, those are Almond Flour Berry Muffins!  A great and delicious way to start off 2020!