Banana Nut Oat Muffins (GF) with a Secret Ingredient

Breakfast is the hardest meal of the day for me.  I don’t really have time to make eggs.   Unfortunately, a smoothie doesn’t make me feel full.  Since I have started the no sugar, no dairy, no gluten, and several other no foods, life has been a little challenging to say the least.

Truth be told.  Air doesn’t taste that good.

I love Muffins

Muffins have always been my weakness.  Over the years, I have made several types of muffins from various gluten free blogs, but the recipe below is my favorite.

I adapted it from The Karma Chow Ultimate Cookbook.  Michelle Costello, the author uses gluten free oats as her base in many of her recipes.  Tapioca or potato starch which tends to be  a good portion of the flour in gluten free baked goods are not my favorites.

Banana Nut Oat Muffins

This recipe makes 16 to 18 average size muffins.  Plus, it has a secret ingredient to keep them moist and so yummy.  Read on.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups of Gluten Free Oat Flour

1 1/2  teaspoons of baking soda

2 cups of pureed organic squash, pumpkin, or zucchini

1/2 teaspoon of  salt

1/4 teaspoon of organic cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of organic cardamon

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup of  Maple Syrup

2 organic eggs

2 ripe organic bananas

2  teaspoons of organic Vanilla

1/4 cup of  chopped and soaked walnuts

Directions:

1.  Soak the walnuts.  Put them  in  enough water to cover them and add  a pinch of salt.  Leave on your counter for at least 8 hours.  Soaking makes the nuts more digestible .

2.  After the walnuts have soaked, drain them and chop them up for use in the recipe.

3.  Turn on the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

4.  Oil your muffin trays with coconut oil.  You will need 3 average size muffin tins for this recipe.

5.  In one bowl, stir in the dry ingredients:  Oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cardamon.

6.  In a small bowl, crack the eggs and lightly beat the eggs.

7.  In another bowl, mash the bananas and then combine them with the olive oil, vanilla, squash, maple syrup, and eggs.   Mix well.

8.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.

9.  Add the chopped walnuts.

10.  Stir again.

11.  The batter should resemble a thick soup.  If it is too dry, add a tablespoon at a time of coconut milk.  If it appears to be too wet add a tablespoon of oats until it gets to the right consistency.

12.  Fill each muffin tin with 2 heaping tablespoons of batter.  You will fill anywhere from 16 to 18 muffin tins depending on how generous you are with your tablespoons.

12.  Put in the oven for 20 minutes.  Note, everyone’s oven is different so check at about 18 minutes if the muffins are done by sticking a toothpick in the center of the muffin.  If the toothpick is clean when you pull it out then the muffins are done.

13.  Pull the muffins out of the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes.  They will firm up in that time.

14.  After the five minutes, take the muffins out of their tins to cool further on a cooling rack.  Once cooled, store them either in the refrigerator for a week  or freeze them.  I store half in the refrigerator and the other half in the freezer for later use.

Substitutions:

I have made  these muffins several different ways.  Here are some substitutions that work:

1.  Swap pecans for the walnuts.

2.  Swap coconut  oil for the olive oil.  Be sure to melt it over a low flame  then add it as the last step of the recipe.    Liquid coconut oil can harden quick so make sure you stir well and start putting the batter in the muffins tins quickly.  The muffins will have a faint taste of coconut.

3.  Swap half of the oil for unsweetened apple sauce.  Don’t substitute the entire amount oil for applesauce or the muffins will be dense.   Honestly, the muffins are much better with the 1/2 cup of oil.

Enjoy!

Join the Conversation:

What are your favorite gluten-free muffin recipes?

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