These Gluten Free Everything Muffins are loaded with healthy ingredients like nuts, coconut, raisins, apples, and carrots. They really are everything and more!
I don’t know why I look forward to the weekends. If I’m being honest, the weekdays are probably a heck of a lot easier (and calmer) than the weekends. Sure, during the week there is a lot to get done like extracurricular activities, homework, cooking, shopping, etc. But, everything is scheduled and in place. I like that kind of chaotic order.
The weekends are another story.
The weekends start by 6:30 in the morning with two little munchkins asking, “What are we going to do today???”
And if I answer that initial question, it’s always followed up with, “What are we going to do after that???”
This question goes on and on and on AND ON!!! That is until we all start laughing (if I’m in a good mood) or I bark in frustration, “Nothing if you keep asking me!!!” The latter scenario is the most frequent, I must admit.
One thing that makes the weekends a tad more stressful is cooking breakfast. I cook/bake ALL WEEK LONG, so by the time the weekend rolls around, I’m in the mood for a little break. But, since my family eats cereal during the weekdays for convenience in the mornings, they really look forward to a warm cooked breakfast come Saturday.
Ben’s go to request is a “whatever’s in the fridge omelet” and my girls love pancakes or muffins in the morning. Now that’s a lot of work filling both requests. However…I’ve got a secret for you…
The FREEZER!
I’m all about making muffins during the week while Braelyn is at school. I’ll leave a few out for her to snack on that day, and then I throw the rest in the freezer for weekend breakfasts. I do the same with my pancakes. I always cook an entire batch and freeze the rest for the next weekend, or for a random midweek warm breakfast.
The latest batch of muffins I made totally rival their carrot cake cousin, only much healthier and not loaded with cream cheese frosting. These Gluten Free Everything Muffins are filled with healthy ingredients liked shredded carrots and apples, Craisins, raisins, nuts, and coconut.
The mixture of ingredients in these muffins create so much texture and so much flavor that you won’t even miss a layer of frosting. In fact, I had a friend tell me that she would eat these muffins any day over regular carrot cake. What a compliment because I LOVE carrot cake!
I used coconut oil in these muffins instead of melted butter or vegetable oil for a healthier fat. They also have slightly less sugar than traditional muffins, and much less sugar than your average cake, so that’s a real plus right there.
The other thing I love about baking gluten free with my own flour blends is that I’m able to make the majority of my baked goods whole grain. These are baked with almost 75% whole grain flours which is much healthier than gluten filled muffins that are baked with primarily enriched white flour.
In these muffins I used a mixture of brown rice flour, sorghum flour, and gluten free oat flour for my whole grain options. This is probably my favorite blend when it comes to making muffins, cakes, and pancakes because they turn out light, fluffy, and less gritty than using other flour options. Plus these 3 flours don’t produce any strong, overwhelming flavors that take away from the food you’re making.
You can feel free to replace any of the mix-ins with options of your choice. Add chocolate chips for more of a treat and omit the coconut or nuts if your kids aren’t fans of the texture. You really can adapt these muffins to your specific taste and preference.
So the next time you have some free time in the middle of the week, mix up a batch of these muffins and freeze them for a fancy weekend breakfast…with an omelet on the side.
What mix-ins do you like in your muffins?
- ⅔ cup melted coconut oil, cooled to touch
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup finely shredded carrots
- 1½ cup finely shredded apple
- ⅔ cup milk (I used 1%)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup gluten free oat flour
- ½ cup sweet sorghum flour
- ½ cup potato starch
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ⅓ cup Craisins
- ⅓ cup raisins
- ⅓ cup chopped nuts of your choice
- ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line muffin tins with paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine coconut oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until well combined and sugar is dissolved.
- In a separate bowl, sift together baking soda, cinnamon, salt, brown rice flour, oat flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, and xanthan gum.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Slowly add milk, mixing on low while pouring until well combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
- Fold in shredded apples and carrots. Add in Craisins, raisins, nuts, and coconut flakes and mix until evenly distributed.
- Fill muffin liners ⅔ way full and bake at 400 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until muffins tops spring back at the touch of a finger and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
- Remove muffins from oven and allow muffins to cool for 3-5 minutes. Carefully remove muffins from tins and set on cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Store extra muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or in freezer for up to 3 months.
