Orange Muffins

Confession: I really dislike the taste of flax meal when baked. Is anyone else in that boat? My husband is allergic to eggs, and I know my alternatives in baking are limited to flax, chia seeds, applesauce, hemp seeds, glue, etc. Sometimes I think about baking for just me and using eggs so he can't have any, but that would be mean, right? :)

But I love him, and I have been trying to get by without eggs. So far the only complaint I have is the taste of flax in baking. If it's breakfasty and hearty, I don't mind it. However, in my muffins, sweet breads, and cakes- I don't want flax meal in there! So these are made with chia seed meal. I did not use them as a direct egg-replacer (like the normal method of adding water to chia seed meal and letting it sit), but rather just for structural purposes into the dry ingredients (see note below**). This seemed to work out much better for me, and I think I will experiment more with this method.

These sweet muffins are inspired by this post from Roost. If you haven't checked out her beautiful blog, go do that right now.

Now that you're back, these little muffins are a sweet little treat. The even better part is that they are entirely sweetened with fruit only! The orange blossom water is available in some grocery stores. It's optional, but it does give the muffins the illusion of the taste of honey since they are not sweetened by any added sweetener.

A word on Almond Flour. When a recipe calls for almond flour, it most likely does not mean almond "meal" which is mainly what Bob's Red Mill is or Trader Joe's brand. However, don't let that discourage you from making your own. I buy blanched almonds from Trader Joes, process in my Vitamix (if you don't have a Vitamix, you can use a coffee grinder) a 1/3 cup at a time, and sift through a strainer to make flour. For these muffins, you can use up to 1 cup of almond meal (usually cheaper than flour). You can also buy this highly recommended flour online.

And for all of you on day 2 of the Sugar Free Challenge, nut flours make for sweeter tasting treats :)

Orange Muffins (fruit sweetened)

Yields: 8-9 regular sized muffinsIngredients
Dry

• 2 cups of almond flour (or up to 1 cup meal, the rest flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 Tbsp tapioca flour
• 2 Tbsp chia seed meal (ground from chia seeds in a coffee grinder, could also sub flax meal here)**
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  

Wet

• 1 orange, peeled- removing the pith (white part) and pureed in a blender
• 1/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
  
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 Tbsp melted coconut oil
  
• 2 tsp orange blossom water

Method

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners
  
• Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Blend all the wet ingredients together, then add to the dry ingredient bowl.
• Scoop into lined muffin pan, filling 3/4 full.
  
• Bake for 15-20 minutes

**It's important for this recipe to mix in the chia seed meal with the dry and not the wet to get a fine crumb on the muffin.

This recipe has been linked up to: Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays @ Simply Sugar and Gluten Free