I was pretty bummed last week when I couldn't make my coconut flour muffins work. But I was undeterred. I am going to figure out gluten free/ grain free baking. But until I get all the way there, baby steps.
The back of my package of coconut flour says that I can substitute one quarter wheat flour for an equal amount of coconut flour. At least I think I read that right. So I went back to my trusted (if old fashioned) Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook with the red and white gingham cover that has long since fallen off. The book was a gift from my mother just a year or two before she died, no doubt a strategic play to make sure we would not go hungry in an emergency.
The coconut flour does not have gluten and so it needs additional leavening. Plus I have always faulted this particular muffin recipe for tasting too much like baking powder. So I started tinkering. But fortunately this recipe has a happy(ier) ending. I did a couple things. I pushed the amount of coconut flour to nearly half. I pulled back on the baking powder but added an extra egg. I substitued honey for sugar and cut the amount by half. Thd batter was too dry, so I added more milk. Below is what I actually did:
Blueberry Coconut Muffins
1 cup half white flour (or white or all purpose flour or 1/2 cup white with half cup whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup of whole milk
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/4 cup raw honey
About 1/3 cup of frozen wild blueberries
I combined the dry ingredients and then in a seperate bowl I combined the wet ingredients. Then I mixed the two together tenderly and added my berries. I spooned it in my muffins cups and baked at 400 for 20 minutes.
So what happened?
They didn't rise enough. They definitely taste dense, but not so much in a bad way. Next time I will add a third egg and possibly another quarter of a cup of milk if the batter is still too dry. The honey was spot on, they are not too sweet, they could be sweeter, but for us right now this is good. I am really trying to limit sugar especially for Thing 1 and with a homemade muffin he doesn't know what he is missing, but he still feels spoiled. Thing 2 has never really had alot of refined sugar except on his birthday, so he has no idea. But I am pretty sure he loves sugar likes his bubba. And I am thinking that is the reason he loves to brush his teeth sooooooo much, nothing in his diet tastes as sweet as that toothpaste! (BTW-it is tom's of maine for kids, so it is not really high in real sugar, but to him it probably tastes like crack)
Another step toward grain free muffin perfection. And the irony that these muffins are mostly grains is not lost on me. Baby steps...Baby steps.
The back of my package of coconut flour says that I can substitute one quarter wheat flour for an equal amount of coconut flour. At least I think I read that right. So I went back to my trusted (if old fashioned) Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook with the red and white gingham cover that has long since fallen off. The book was a gift from my mother just a year or two before she died, no doubt a strategic play to make sure we would not go hungry in an emergency.
The coconut flour does not have gluten and so it needs additional leavening. Plus I have always faulted this particular muffin recipe for tasting too much like baking powder. So I started tinkering. But fortunately this recipe has a happy(ier) ending. I did a couple things. I pushed the amount of coconut flour to nearly half. I pulled back on the baking powder but added an extra egg. I substitued honey for sugar and cut the amount by half. Thd batter was too dry, so I added more milk. Below is what I actually did:
Blueberry Coconut Muffins
1 cup half white flour (or white or all purpose flour or 1/2 cup white with half cup whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup of whole milk
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/4 cup raw honey
About 1/3 cup of frozen wild blueberries
I combined the dry ingredients and then in a seperate bowl I combined the wet ingredients. Then I mixed the two together tenderly and added my berries. I spooned it in my muffins cups and baked at 400 for 20 minutes.
So what happened?
They didn't rise enough. They definitely taste dense, but not so much in a bad way. Next time I will add a third egg and possibly another quarter of a cup of milk if the batter is still too dry. The honey was spot on, they are not too sweet, they could be sweeter, but for us right now this is good. I am really trying to limit sugar especially for Thing 1 and with a homemade muffin he doesn't know what he is missing, but he still feels spoiled. Thing 2 has never really had alot of refined sugar except on his birthday, so he has no idea. But I am pretty sure he loves sugar likes his bubba. And I am thinking that is the reason he loves to brush his teeth sooooooo much, nothing in his diet tastes as sweet as that toothpaste! (BTW-it is tom's of maine for kids, so it is not really high in real sugar, but to him it probably tastes like crack)
Another step toward grain free muffin perfection. And the irony that these muffins are mostly grains is not lost on me. Baby steps...Baby steps.
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