Low Carb Grain-free Cinnamon Muffins

Low Carb Grain Free Gluten Free Muffins

Baking is what I do now when I've had a bad week. There are lots of reasons to have a bad week, just no excuses. I didn't need to get caught up in office drama. It happens daily and I usually stay out of it. Lapse of judgement. I didn't need to get caught up in my kid's drama. She's an adult. And I certainly didn't need to give a flying fig (do people really say that?) about the drama in the Kardarashian family. I don't even know who the key players are. Ugh. So I bake. 

It helps. I bake healthy. Easy. A few substitutions from the normal routine. Because contrary to what ignorant blowhorns out there tell you, being diabetic, or having serious food reactions doesn't call for simple will power or 8 hours daily of spare time in the gym. It calls for problem solving.

Here's a problem. You know the terrible cravings. You get up and after a long night of rest your body wants something really tasty. Willpower aside, donuts are just bad. But you don't want eggs. Don't eat toast. Can't have bagels. What do you do? Make muffins.

But this morning I wasn't in the mood for any of the traditional sugar free fruit muffins. I wanted a cinnamon bun. Hubby is craving them. He has this terrible pyschotic need for cinnamon buns dripping with icing. But that seemed a tad hard at this point in my fledgling pseudo-chef career. So I settled for a Cinnamon Muffin. 

I started with a basic muffin recipe using almond flour. My favorite source for base recipes that can be toyed with and messed with to create your own? Head over to About.com's Laura Dolson. She is a one-stop source of credible info and recipes.

Now here's a new tip. NEVER make muffins before coffee. There I am happily mixing and stirring when lo and behold... I noticed that the recipe didn't say baking soda it said baking powder. If you bake much, you'll realize they are not interchangeable in measurement. Let's just say rising wasn't an issue. Baking soda is the active ingredient in Baking Powder. So it's concentrated. If you are using Baking Powder you use more. Ooops.

Cinnayum!

Low carb and scrumptious breakfast treat!

I'm really excited about these. Even with the error. I'm going to eat one now, and if it's tasty and the texture is good, I'm going to give you the recipe. I might have to eat few to get a good picture. LOL

Results? Wow. I guess it's recipe time!



Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan (regular size not the wimpy mini ones) or use paper liners as I did.

Muffin mix (Laura Dolson's recipe with some tweaks):
2 cups Almond flour
2 teaspoons BAKING POWDER
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large organic eggs
1 stick melted (half cup or 8 tablespoons) organic butter, unsalted, or Ghee.
1/3 cup water
1/4-1/3 cup sweetener (depends on how sweet you like your muffins) I used 1/4 cup Swerve

Combine all dry ingredients in mixing bowl. I recommend sifting the almond flour as fine as possible.
Add melted butter, vanilla, and water and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, blendiing fully with mixture until the batter is thick and smooth. Pour into muffin tin cups roughly 1/2 way up.

Cinnamon Topping:
2 Tabelspoons melted butter
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons Swerve or Splenda (sugar or honey if you are not worried about it)

Mix the topping ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth and creamy. Drop a dollop on the batter in each muffin cup, and with a toothpick swirl into the batter.

Bake 15-20 minutes until top is set and firm and a toothpick comes out pretty clean. Don't overbake. Almond Flour goods should be refrigerated after they are completely cool for best texture and taste. But I have to say, these were fabulous right out of the oven. Total time start to finish? 25 minutes. Breakfast is served!