Chocolate Muffins! Flourless and Flavorful!

I've found my passion in the kitchen again.  I love to cook, and bake, and create yummy deliciousness.  I love food!  And now that I'm paying more attention to the nutrition my food can provide, I'm learning new ways to transform some of my favorite comfort foods and pleasures into something that is good for me, and tastes good at the same time.  Eating right doesn't mean your food has to taste like card board! 

Lately, I've been craving sweets!  I love chocolate, cakes, donuts, pies, etc.  But I haven't really consumed any desserts because my thought process has been, "No...that's bad for you."  Obviously, I'm allowed a "bad for you" food sometimes (and when I do have it, my Fat Fighter comes to the rescue).  However, I want to be able to give into my cravings without the guilt.  Pinterest is my friend, and has been a great place for me to find ideas on how to have my cake and eat it too. 

What's neat about this recipe is that it's flourless.  And you'd never know it by the looks, taste, and texture of the finished product.  Let's make some "better for you" Chocolate Muffins. 

The base for this recipe is almond butter and eggs.  In my previous post, I show you how to make your own almond butter at home and for less than store bought. 

 And *BONUS* the recipe I share makes the exact amount you need for this recipe.

 

After you cream the almond butter and eggs together, the mixture ends up looking like, well, almond butter. If yours does, too, then you did something right.

 

Then we end up with mud...LOL. 

 

Say hello to my little friend!

Really.  This will make your life easier.  I use this scoop for baking.  It's never touched ice cream, ever.  Using a scoop will keep your muffins uniform in size, therefore, they'll bake at the same rate of time.  

And it's not just for muffins!  I use this for cupcakes, large meatballs, or measuring out my mini meatloaves...basically anything that I bake in a muffin tin.

See what I mean?  All my muffins will bake evenly and end up being the same size.

Yes!  Finally!  I can have a sweet treat without the guilt.

What a perfect paring.  Chocolate muffin and coffee.  

Get my MUG here.

 

Look at the texture.  Like I'd mentioned, if you were to make this and share it with someone, they'd have no clue that it didn't have flour in it.  The texture is perfect.  With some gluten free baked goods, the texture ends up being weird.  Gluten free baked goods are dense, crumbly, and aren't as tender and gluten baked items.  However, this muffin turned out soft and moist.  

 

This recipe makes a dozen muffins.  

I was very satisfied after one and a cup of coffee.  My kids, on the other hand, wanted more.  That should tell you something about how they taste.  I haven't let them go back for seconds, yet.  They'll have to wait until after dinner.  But this recipe will be a definite repeat in my house. I was very pleased and impressed with how much flavor they packed.  Maybe next time I make them, I'll add some dark chocolate chips.  

If you try them out, I'd love to hear what you think!

 

Gluten-Free Chocolate Muffins

1-1/2 cup almond butter ((recipe found here))
5 eggs
2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbs instant coffee granules
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the almond butter and eggs with an electric mixer.
3. To the bowl, add the remaining ingredients.  Mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Mixture will be thick and smooth.
4. Evenly divide mixture into 12 lined or greased cups in a muffin tin.
5. Bake 15-20 minutes.  Mine took 19 minutes in my oven (cooking time will vary depending on your oven).  They're ready when a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  
6. After removing from the oven, allow to rest for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Yields 12 muffins.