sunday muffins…. gluten free and vegan lemon poppyseed…
i am happy to report that with the exception of not having any muffin tin liners left at home this recipe went off without a hitch! and, as an added bonus- just as i was contemplating prepping for the muffins one of my best buddies here in istanbul sent me a giant bag of lemons! it was fate.
i woke up early to bake these for our breakfast and it was so worth it. nearly sugar free, the lemony taste with the poppyseeds was just perfect and i savored my muffin with a fantastic cup of morning coffee.
it was early enough that i was moving a bit slowly, but i would say these muffins could be ready in one-hour tops. have your ingredients ready and a hot oven waiting, and you will be set.
ingredients
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lemon
2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax seed with 6 tbsp water- mix and set aside)
½ cup nut mylk
1/3 cup coconut oil-softened
2 tbsp baking powder
½ tbsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup almond flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
½ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp poppy seeds
instructions
preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. (400f)
line muffin tin with muffin liners or grease with coconut oil and sprinkle with almond flour
mix together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, poppy seeds and lemon zest
in a separate bowl mix flax eggs, lemon juice, coconut oil and nut mylk
combine wet and dry ingredients and spoon into muffin tin
cook for 20-25 minutes (mine were perfect at 22 minutes) and cool on baking rack
another lockdown weekend; another funny muffin story!
yesterday i was absolutely exhausted. i had bitten off too many weekend projects, had too many meals to cook and way too many things to tidy and by the time our muffin baking rolled around i had really had it with the idea of being in the kitchen.
my beautiful children came to the rescue! alegra loves all things cooking related anyway so she was ready to help and alara has been studying like a crazy person for her upcoming in-person exams. we still don’t know if these exams will actually happen but, rightfully so, she really wants to be prepared. give or take a few days, when she goes back mid-week, she will have not hand any in person learning for exactly 12 months. (the other two did have the opportunity to go to “real” school in the fall so alara holds our family record for number of days of online school.)
i had planned to make some very berry muffins- one of my favorites- but i had not planned well enough to actually make sure we had all the ingredients we might need. oops.
we did seem to have an inordinate amount of coconut flour, so that is what we used. the end result was good, although very coconutty! if you do decide to recreate our coconutty berry muffins just be prepared to use a bit more almond milk as coconut flour tends to soak up liquid more than other gluten free flours.
ingredients:
1 ½ cups gluten free flour (in hindsight i recommend using an almond flour and oat combo)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
¾ cup nut mylk (or more if using coconut flour)
1 flax egg (or regular if not vegan)
8 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mixed frozen berries
¾ cup brown sugar
instructions:
preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (375 f)
prepare muffin tin with liners
combine berries and sugar and mix gently- set aside
funny story about this sunday’s muffins- alara and i were cooking a bunch of food for the lockdown weekend and i decided we would “try out” this recipe i had come up with.
but truth be told, i really was not concentrating on the muffins and so the whole thing turned into a bit of a joke!!!
i added extra ingredients, put in a bit too much baking powder, and completely forgot to preheat the oven 😅
oh well! the results were still delicious, and we tried out the recipe again today for a loaf of banana bread and so now the recipe is tried and true and ready to be shared…
covid and lockdown have been really stressful for us all and a bit of baking and laughing this week did us all a lot of good…
my wish for you is to have the (maybe unexpected) chance to enjoy the baking process with one of your children too; and be sure to get some laughs in too!!!
these muffins are perfect for breakfast- serve with a large dollop of nut butter, a sprinkling of chia seeds and a cup of coffee for a perfect winter treat.
oh! and i forgot, this is a blender recipe, so you only need one mixing bowl- or a blender- and you are set…
ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
¼ cup coconut sugar
3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup nut mylk
¼ cup nut butter
1 cup gluten free oats
1 cup almond meal
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon chia seeds
instructions:
preheat oven to 180 degrees
line a muffin tin with muffin liners
use a bread pan lined with parchment paper if you would rather make banana bread
blend bananas, sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, nut mylk, nut butter in blender or with hand mixer
add in oats, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and chia seeds
for muffins bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
for full loaf of banana bread bake for 25-30 minute
the whole load turned out amazing too… perfect for breakfast in the snowy winter weather we have these days here in istanbul ❄️
join us as we embark on a new routine- sunday muffins!
as a virgo through and through i am a very big fan of routines.
knowing what is coming up centers me. it helps me to keep some of the more anxious thoughts and “what ifs” at bay. not only do i love living the routine, but i also adore planning the routine. i have all sorts of notebooks- one for daily to-dos; one for our weekly meals; one for recipes; one for bigger, long term plans- and tons of lists! books to be read; articles to check out; yoga classes to take; things to buy; things to give away… all listed nicely and neatly.
as much as i love a routine life, over the years i have learned (sometimes the hard way) to let go and go with the flow (sort of). juggling the needs, wants and schedules of three kids; living in the beautiful chaos of istanbul; being connected to other people socially and professionally- all these have been known to cause glitches from time to time!
and of course, this year we are living through the biggest glitch of all! not in a million years would i have ever thought we would be on month 10 of staying home, at home learning, curfew and weekend lockdowns. i really somehow thought this would be a couple months long blip in an otherwise normal year.
the first couple of months were better; alegra and i had a really great whiteboard, and we had a schedule for every day- it was great! i knew what was coming, everyone at home knew the plan. it was as “normal” as one could have hoped for.
our first schedule was pretty simple… as time went by we added all sorts of information and started other lists too…
but these days, as covid wears on and on, i am finding it hard to even consider creating a routine. i had hoped new years would inspire me but here i am halfway into the month and still a bit lost.
so, as i baked these muffins for sunday morning breakfast, i realized these might just be the perfect way to start a new routine!
i’ve had food projects before; you can find a whole year of vegetable fritters (mucver, in turkish) here … and a year of gluten free kid-friendly treats here
and so, it seems 2021 will be the year of muffins! the muffins will always be gluten-free; though not always vegan nor sugar free (sometimes we need a little treat too, guys!) i hope that you enjoy this new routine as much as i do 🙂
gluten-free vegan blueberry muffins
ingredients:
2 vegan flax eggs (mix 2 tablespoons ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons water and set aside to thicken)
2/3 cup vegan buttermilk (mix nut mylk with 2 teaspoons vinegar and set aside)
1 cup almond flour
½ cup gluten free oats
¾ cup gluten free flour mix **
2/3 cup coconut sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cup blueberries (can be fresh or frozen)
instructions:
preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius
line muffin pan with liner cups
combine flours, oats, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and mix well
add flax egg, buttermilk, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract and mix until just combined
fold in blueberries carefully –
batter should be thick at this point, if not add 1-2 tablespoons almond flour
spoon batter into prepared muffin pan
bake for about 30 minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean
cool on rack for at least 10 minutes
serve warm with a cup of tea or coffee!
** recently, i have been using organik bahce’s gluten free flour mix here in turkey**
if you live in istanbul you are hopefully enjoying this snow day as much as we are!!! the city is quiet and beautiful and watching the snowflakes fall is actually meditative in its own way.
the snow brought us a LOT of joy- we made a snowman, had snowball fights, made snow angels, drank hot chocolate and of course, baked brownies- yum!
our brownie baking actually happened on saturday, while we were waiting rather (im)patiently for the snow to start. we knew we would want dessert that night so alara and alegra figured out a way to use up a batch of caramel we had made mid-week for apple dipping.
the result some of the most indulgent joyful caramel brownies i have ever tasted!
they humored me and made them gluten free but feel free to use regular flour if you prefer; and don’t worry if you have left over caramel sauce, it is just as delicious on its own and perfect for dipping fruit or making ice cream sundaes 🙂
easy caramel sauce:
ingredients:
2 cups brown sugar
12 tablespoons butter- cut up into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sea salt flakes
instructions:
have all ingredients at room temperature
heat sugar over medium high heat in bottom of a large saucepan-whisking continuously
once sugar is melted add butter and stir until melted
remove pan from heat and slowly add cream
whisk until cream is completely absorbed and caramel is smooth
add sea salt flakes and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes
store in a glass jar in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks
gluten free caramel brownies:
ingredients:
½ cup dark chocolate- chopped into pieces
½ cup milk chocolate- chopped into pieces
1 cup butter
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup gluten free flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup salted caramel sauce
instructions:
preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (375f)
line a baking dish with parchment paper and set aside
in a large pot melt butter and chocolate together- allow to cool slightly
add in eggs, sugar and vanilla extract- mix well
sift gluten free flour on top and mix in until just combined
pour brownie batter into prepared dish and spread evenly
place large spoonfuls of caramel sauce on top of batter and use a knife to swirl into the batter
bake for 20-25 minutes for fudgy brownies; 30-35 minutes for more cakelike ones
the caramel will bubble, and the batter will seem to be shaky but don’t worry! once the brownies cool down the mixture will harden, and you will be able to cut and serve
a certain slant of light 