Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe (wheat-free, grain-free)

My first thought after trying these muffins was: It’s nuts what you can do with nuts. These apple cinnamon muffins are satisfying, tasty, protein-packed alternatives to the big box sugary, carb-puffs that leave you sugar crashing and hungry an hour later. With the main ingredients being almond flour and eggs, these lightly sweetened muffins make a terrific breakfast or snack for the entire family. If you’re planning a holiday brunch this weekend, this recipe is going to be embraced by wheat-eaters and wheat-free’s alike. Once you have the ingredients on hand, they’re easy and low-maintenance to bake up too. Letting them cool is the only difficult step. Why, hello there never-ending hunger with 39 weeks pregnancy a-knockin’ at my window tomorrow.

In the past few years, I have attempted a lot of grain-free “bakery” recipes. I’ve tried coconut flour and almond flour muffins, cakes, cookies and more. Most of the results have been sad. These muffins will make anyone a grain-free believer, they are oh so good. A few other successes have been the flourless chocolate torte, pumpkin spice bars, and chocolate chip bars (though I haven’t made since being pregnant due to my inability to find BPA-free coconut milk). Enjoy these grain-free, dairy-free apple cinnamon muffins!

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Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe, Grain-free

Adapted from Elana’s Almond Flour Muffin Recipe
Note: This recipe makes 8 muffins. Double or triple to your heart’s content.

2 cups blanched almond flour (homemade or Honeyville are recommended)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup unsweetened, organic applesauce (I use Trader Joe’s)
2 Tablespoons raw cane sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Optional: 1/4 cup finely chopped candied pecans (homemade option here)
Optional: 2 Tablespoons applesauce (unsweetened, organic) to use as topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the almond flour, baking soda, and sea salt in a large bowl. I crush any almond flour clumps while I mix the dry ingredients together. In a medium bowl, first mix the applesauce, cinnamon, and sugar. To the cinnamon-sugared applesauce, add the eggs and apple cider vinegar, and mix well. Then incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry for an even, thick batter. In a paper-lined muffin pan, nearly fill each (unbleached) paper cup with batter. I use a medium-sized scoop for this step.
If you opt for an applesauce and/or candied pecan topping, put a 1/4 teaspoon dollop of applesauce atop each muffin cup of batter, then sprinkle each with finely chopped candied pecans. Yes, I highly recommend the optional toppings!
Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly if you have more will power than me.
*Also allow to cool completely before storing loosely-covered.

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