Double Dark Chocolate Muffins

Double Dark Chocolate Gluten-Free, Egg-Free Muffins

Ok...  So as many of you gluten-free eaters out there know, it can be a difficult task to bake a delicious muffin without gluten.  It is even more challenging to bake a delicious tender gluten-free muffin without eggs!  In most gluten-free baked items, eggs (sometimes in combination with a starch such as tapioca or potato) are used to help bind and create texture due to the lack of gluten dirived texture and binding qualities. When one is not able to use the eggs, even an egg substitute falls short of this huge responsibility many times.

It took many tries, but finally I was able to acheive a muffin that is gluten-free, egg-free, free of hydrogenated fats, but yet rich, delicious and moist. 

DRY INGREDIENTS:
2/3 c. Dark Cocoa Powder, (we like Hershey's Special Dark... and it works ok with all the allergies we deal with!)
1 c. Buckwheat Flour
3/4 c. Masa Harina
1 1/4 c. Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 tsp. salt

WET INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c. Flaxseed Egg Substitute Mixture*  (or two large eggs, if you don't have to avoid them)
1 c.  Milk, or your favorite milk substitute (almond milk and coconut milk are both great in this recipe!)
2 tsp. Vinegar
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 c. Applesauce, unsweetened
1/4 c. Vegetable or Canola Oil

Optional Add-Ins:
1 c. Dark Chocolate Chips (or other favorite chips)
1/2 c. Coconut, shredded, unsweetened or sweetened
1/2 c. Chopped Pecans
1/2 c. Sunflower Seeds
 Or anything else you prefer....

Struesel Topping:
 1/4 c.  Buckwheat flour (or any GF AP flour mix that you like)
1/2 c.  Brown Sugar
2 Tbs. Butter, softened but not melted.

In a large bowl mix together all the Dry Ingredients.  Then measure all the Wet Ingredients right into the mixing bowl with the Dry Ingredients.  Then mix together well with a whisk until mostly smooth.  There is no real need here to mix all the wet ingredient together before adding to the dry as you would with full gluten muffins...  there is no gluten in these to make it tough!  Just stop mixing when the batter is just about all smooth and you'll be all set!  At this point fold in any of the "Optional Add-Ins" that you choose.  The muffins pictured above just had the dark chocolate chips added.  Scoop the batter into well greased muffin tins (or likewise use cupcake papers...) to about 3/4 full.

If you choose to add the Struesel Topping, simply mix the flour and brown sugar together well, and then cut in the butter with a pastry blender or use your fingers, until it resembles crumbs the size of peas or smaller.  Sprinkle this mixture over the uncooked batter and proceed to bake.  In the picture shown above, the middle muffin has the Struesel Topping and the two others do not. When I choose to add coconut into the muffin batter (which is absolutely delicious, by the way) I sprinkle the tops with the shredded coconut instead of the struesel topping.  It's up to you!

Bake at 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.  The tops of the muffins should feel firm to the touch.  I like to check a couple of the muffins by inserting a wooden skewer or cake tester into the center.  If it comes out clean (with the exception of any melted chocolate chips) then they are done!  Remove from oven and immediately remove, CAREFULLY, from the muffin tins.  Allow to cool for maybe 5 minutes or so.

These muffins are best when served warm.  At room temperature they are just a little dryer than when warm, but still quite good.  They will keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days, and they freeze extremely well.  Put them in the freezer and take out just what you need the night before. Then, at breakfast, warm them in the microwave if you wish, or wrap in foil and warm in a 350 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes while your getting ready for your day!


*Please see the post called "Egg Substitutes" for more information regarding the Flaxseed Egg Substitute.  If you are not allergic to eggs, simply use real eggs instead of the substitute. 

Molasses Crinkles, Gluten-Free/Egg-Free

A GLUTEN-FREE COOKIE IS A HAPPY COOKIE!

These cookies are absolutely delicious!  They are soft and chewy with only a slight buckwheat taste and the texture is not too far off from a regular "glutenous" molasses crinkle.  This is one of those recipes that my daughter and husband likes even though they have no allergies.  And it is so easy!

1 stick of butter (4 oz.)
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. molasses
1/4 c. applesauce
1/4 c. flax seed egg substitute (see information in the Egg Substitutes post)
1 1/2 c. buckwheat flour
1 c. masa harina
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves

Cream together the butter, sugar, molasses, applesauce, and flax egg substitute in an electric mixer.  Add the buckwheat flour, masa harina, salt, baking soda cinnamon, ginger and cloves and mix until well combined.
Refrigerate dough for 2-3 hours or overnight.

Roll into 1" balls and dredge in granulated sugar.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 mins at 350 degrees.  They should be slightly soft when touched in the top with finger, but not gushy.  After removing from oven let cool on baking sheet, removing them hot will result in breakage.  Makes about 2-2 1/2 dozen cookies.  Store in an airtight container, they stay moist and delicious for up to a week, if they don't get eaten up first!!  :o)

If you like molasses cookies or ginger snap type cookies...  you will love these!

Gluten-Free Flours

Buckwheat Flour

Kasha

Buckwheat Flour

Even though the name includes the word "wheat" it is not a type of wheat at all.  It is actually a seed that is in the rhubarb family.  In seed form it is referred to as "kasha" and you can find it toasted or raw, it can be cooked in boiling water and eaten as a side dish, like you would a pilaf.  I have tried this and really like it as a savory dish, not so much as a cereal.  My son did not like it at all!  In flour form it has a wonderful texture, very soft like a light or white whole wheat flour, when you touch it.  It bakes up lighter than any of the rice, potato or tapioca flours that I have tried.  Also at room temperature, the baked product is softer than when using the rice flours, which are heavy and dry at room temp.  This is one of my favorites to work with so far!  There is a light variety and a dark variety, at this point I mostly use the light since it has a milder flavor than the dark, it is more appealing to my son.  Buckwheat flour in general has a much stronger flavor than regular white all-purpose flours.  I compare it to a strong whole wheat flavor, that does come through as an undertone in many of the baked items.  My opinion is that I would rather have a little bit of the flavor with a much better textured item in relation to other gluten-free flours, that may be mostly flavorless, but produce very heavy baked items.


Masa Harina

Masa Harina (corn flour)

A delicious flour made from corn!  It is the same flour that is used to make corn tortillas.  If you have ever heard that corn has gluten in it, that is correct, however, to my understanding, it is a different type of gluten so most people who only have wheat gluten allergies can have corn gluten.  I know of a few people who have to avoid corn gluten as well as wheat gluten.  Many of the recipes posted in this blog contain a combination of buckwheat flour and masa harina.  If you are not able to have corn gluten, please do not use the masa, simply use all buckwheat.  It works just as well.  I use the masa combined with the buckwheat because the masa has a slightly sweeter flavor than the buckwheat so it seems to balance the stronger flavor of the buckwheat well.  I would not advise using all masa in a baked item without combining it with another flour.  The baked item will tend to be heavier, although it will retain some moisture.

Garbanzo Bean Flour
What I like about this flour:  It is very high in protein - a super plus when feeding an ADHD child :o), and it is great for savory applications such as pizza crust, the flavor goes especially well with it.  I would not recommend this flour for baked items simply because of the strong "beany" flavor.  Although I love garbanzo beans in general and also hummus, this flour is just a little too overwhelming in the flavor department for most of my baking.  However, I am going to try it for brownies at some point, I have heard that it works pretty good for that, but have been apprehensive about it due to the intense flavor of it.  I hate throwing out food - and wonder if that would be the outcome. I will keep you posted as I find out!

Quinoa in grain form

Quinoa Flour
Ok, so I am dying to try this flour!  I just saw it in the natural food store the other day, but didn't have enough funds that particular day.  It is a little more expensive than the buckwheat and the masa harina, but I LOVE quinoa grain itself cooked like a pilaf or made into a salad.  The quinoa grain, white or red variety, is said to be a "superfood", in that it contains complete protein, so it can substitute for meats.  Would love to hear comments from anyone who has tried this flour.  I am going to try it out soon and will post my results!

Rice, Potato, Tapioca Flours
I have found that these flours work well when combined with other flours or in a baking mix.  I don't care for the results of baked goods made with just one of these or a combination of just these three.  The flavor is ok, but the texture tends to be grainy, and the final product, when cooled to room temperature becomes very heavy and dense.  At that point, it is only good to eat if reheated, but even still, it's not quite the same as fresh.

Gluten-Free Baking Mixes and All-Purpose Flours
I do not use very many baking mixes simply because I usually have so many ingredients on hand doing everything from scratch.  Also many of them have the xanthan gum (or other gums) that I try not to use very often.  I have used "Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix" because a friend gave me a bag of it to try.  It contains rice flours, tapioca and potato starches, almond meal, buttermilk, xanthan gum, and leavening such as baking powder/soda.  This is not a mix that is acceptable for people with tree nut allergies or dairy allergies.  I did try it, and I admit that it worked pretty good.  I tried out the chocolate chip cookies that were on the back of the bag, and it was a decent product.  Still, for the price, I can make a larger variety of items out of the buckwheat and masa combination.  It would be worth the price for a special recipe that worked the best with only that mix it, or for a treat on a special occasion.

For the all-purpose flours, I have tried the "Gluten-Free King Arthur Multi-Purpose Flour" and the "Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour".  I am a King Arthur fan when it comes to their regular wheat flours, but not so with the gluten-free.  I found it to be WAY over priced, first of all, and the quality of the baked items was not so great that I was willing to keep paying the almost $8 for 24oz.  It is mainly comprised of the rice flours with potato and tapioca starches, so at room temp most baked items were very dense and solid.  The "Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour" was not a success in my book either, however I do know of a few people who use this for most of their gluten-free baking.  I found it to be overly strong tasting and still did not find that the texture was as mouth appealing as the masa or buckwheat.  This flour contains mainly potato starch, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, garbanzo bean flour and fava bean flour.  I think maybe it is the bean flours that I don't care for in this one too.  Although, like I said before, I love beans in general, but am not having good success with flavor in using their flours in sweet baked goods.