BLUEBERRY LEMON PALEO MUFFINS

In thinking about making muffins today, I thought about the various flours I use in cooking and baking. I have a variety of flours on hand and most of them I keep in the fridge. I did wonder about coconut flour as I have been keeping coconut flour in the fridge and was curious if it was necessary. From reading various posts on the internet I will keep it in the fridge. I buy a big bag of almond flour from Costco and have kept that in a cupboard where I keep dry goods. I use it fairly frequently and it is kept in quite a sturdy bag. For now I have decided to keep it in the cupboard which is a dark and located in a cool spot. 

With all of the fresh blueberries available it is an opportune time to make blueberry muffins. This recipe from paleorunningmomma included ingredients I had on hand so I decided to make it.  I made a few modifications to the original recipe. I used coconut milk in the cartoon as it is more handy and I don't cook enough with canned coconut milk to warrant having leftovers in the fridge. If you use canned coconut milk, shake the can really well before opening it. I also used liquid coconut oil instead of melting coconut oil. I do have coconut oil in the plastic container but decided to use some of the MCT oil I have on hand. The directions call for using a hand mixer or other mixing gadgets. You can make these muffins without a hand mixer and using a whisk will work just as well. For a muffin tin I like to use one made with silicon as it doesn't require muffin tin paper liners. 

Messy silicon muffin tin that I used to make the muffins.

Muffins cooling in the pan.

Ready for sampling.

INGREDIENTS:

4 large eggs
1/2 cup full fat canned coconut milk or coconut milk in the cartoon
6 tbsp honey, maple syrup or stevia
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled
1/4 cup lemon juice
zest from a small lemon (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

3/4 -1 cup of fresh blueberries (can use frozen blueberries that are thawed)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. If using a metal or non-stick muffin tin, line the cups with muffin tin paper liners. 

In a large bowl that can accommodate a hand mixer or using a mixmaster (I used a mixmaster in mixing these muffins), add the eggs and blend them until they are mixed. Add the coconut milk, honey or other sweetener, coconut oil, lemon juice, zest and vanilla extract to the bowl with the beaten eggs and mix well. 

In a separate medium size bowl, add all of the dry ingredients and mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients using low speed until combined. The batter will be thick because of the coconut and tapioca flours. Add the blueberries and fold into the batter using a mixing spoon. 

Using a large spoon, add the batter to each of the lined muffin cups filling it to about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. I had the oven on convection and took the muffins out after 20 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for about five minutes and then remove each muffin and transfer them to a cooling rack. Store in the fridge for three to four days and freeze any leftovers. Makes 12 muffins.

Adapted from paleorunningmomma.com