If I admit to something do you promise not to judge me? Alright well I am just going to tell you anyway.
I am writing this, with a plate of chocolate crumbs sitting next to me on my desk.
You see as soon as I sat down to write it, I remembered that I still had one muffin lurking in the freezer waiting for me to devour it.
It may or may not be a selfish coincidence that my big boy, who also loves these muffins, is asleep, hence eliminating the need to share. Does that make me a bad Mum?
Well you really can’t judge me until you’ve tasted one of these for yourself. It all started when a lovely mother’s group friend gifted me 12 bags (yes 12!!) of almond meal.
It was really close to its used by date and she figured I would get more use out of it. I’m a freezer addict so jumped at the haul and now have a freezer-full of almond meal but I’ve also been using it up in lots of delicious recipes, these muffins being one of them.
They’re gluten, dairy and refined-sugar free, but don’t let that put you off if you’re in the mood for a good, rich, chocolate muffin – you’ll never know those food groups are missing.
They’re dense and rich and light at the same time (can they be dense and light? I say they can).
I used super-dark, high-quality chocolate in mine and not as much as the recipe suggested seeing as Mr big boy was going to get one too. He devoured it. This kid loves chocolate like his mumma.
They also freeze perfectly. I just threw them all in a zip-lock bag and straight in the freezer then leave them out on the bench for a couple of hours to defrost (or in the case of the one I just devoured, wrapped it in a napkin and microwaved it for 25 seconds).
I will definitely be making a batch or two of these to stock the freezer for easy snacks when Bubba Number Two arrives. Enjoy!
Gluten free chocolate chip muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 free-range eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (or butter) I also made these the second time with olive oil and they were just as good
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup cacao
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup finely chopped, best-quality dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C(320F) fan-forced and line a muffin tin with liners (or use a greased silicone baking tin).
- Place the mashed banana in a big bowl and stir in the eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla.
- In another bowl, stir together the almond meal, cacao, baking soda and salt.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet then fold in the chocolate.
- Divide the batter between the 12 holes of the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 349 Total Fat 24g Saturated Fat 9g Trans Fat 0g Unsaturated Fat 14g Cholesterol 33mg Sodium 219mg Carbohydrates 28g Fiber 5g Sugar 17g Protein 8g
Hello! If I wanted to use regular flour instead of almond meal would it be the same amount? Thanks!
Hi A. Yes you could probably use the same amount.
What a blessing to be given all that almond meal. You will also have to make some friands. I do love the list of ingredients in these muffins and I think bananas and chocolate work beautifully together. It’s definitely more important for Ollie to get his sleep than eat the last muffin! xx
I may have already made some Charlie but they’re back on the list for more! Haha and more important for Mummy that Ollie gets his sleep and she eats the muffin!
These look great, just the thing I like to cook. And, I must say I’m very impressed at how clean your muffin tins are – mine quit looking that good years ago! lol
Ahh that would be for two reasons Alison – it’s new and I am too lazy to grease muffin tins so always use liners or use the silicone one if I’m not using liners.
Wow 12 bags of almond meal! I think the freezer was definitely a good idea :D Hehe mums definitely deserve treats so you’re not a bad mum at all!
Our freezers are seriously jam-packed now!
If anything you’re more deserving of eating as many of these as you want after what I’m sure are long days of chasing that sweet little man around! I’m a freezer addict too, but I could never think of as many ways to use up all that great almond meal as you surely will!
Haha thanks Jess! Oh yes I remember having freezer envy when you shared how organised yours was once.
Yum Claire, I love the way they rise up so high and the cracks on top. That’s the sign of a good muffin to me!
Well they are definitely good!
Very nice Claire. There are lots of great new ideas for egg and dairy free goodies. I am not a fan of coconut oil but I can always add a smige of butter. How very lucky are you getting all that almond meal!!
Yep you could definitely use butter instead or even any other type of oil.