
Almond-Oat Muffins
Gluten-free, Lactose-free, FODMAP-friendly
Yield: 12-18 muffins
I could almost live on these. The inspiration was a Specific Carbohydrate Diet recipe in Elaine Gottschall’s groundbreaking book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle—but this version is modified with low-FODMAP ingredients. I generally bake a double batch, since these freeze so well. These are my lembas for traveling (fellow Tolkien fans will understand). I generally pack two for each day I’ll be gone, and then I know I won’t starve even if the only restaurant food I can find is a plain chicken breast. Or … an almond-oat muffin and a cup of tea can tide me over until I find other safe food.
Ingredients
Flours Mixture
- 2 cups almond flour: blanched or unblanched, in any ratio you like
- ¾ cup gluten-free oat flour
- ½ tsp (scant) xanthan gum
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp (scant) ground cloves
Batter Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- ½ c sugar: I like to use about half dextrose when I bake, since dextrose is reported to help digest fructose
- ½ c cooked, cooled gluten-free oatmeal
- 3 T melted, cooled butter
- ¼ c plain, unsweetened almond milk
- ¾ tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare muffin tins with 12-18 paper muffin cups, depending how large you like your muffins.
- Combine Flours Mixture in a medium bowl, stirring well. Keep all liquids away from xanthan gum until it’s well blended with other flours.
- Beat Batter Ingredients with an upright mixer in a large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add the Flours Mixture. The batter should be thick, but if it’s extremely stiff, add 1-3 Tbsp cool water.
- Spoon into paper muffin cups. Bake about 25 minutes, until nicely browned. Cool completely on wire rack. These muffins tend to stick to the paper until fully cooled.
GINGERBREAD VARIATION – delicious!
Ingredients
Flours Mixture
- For the oat flour, you may substitute equal parts oat, sorghum, and sticky rice flour.
- Add 1 Tbsp ground ginger.
Batter Mixture
- Increase total sugar to 2/3 cup.
- Add another ¼ tsp of vanilla (total: 1 tsp).
- Add ½ cup chopped nuts.
- Optional: Add ½ tsp “Kitchen Bouquet”* or FODMAP-safe bottled browning sauce to the batter ingredients.
- Optional: Add 1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger.
Cooking for One:
These muffins freeze beautifully. Thaw in refrigerator for best results, or microwave one muffin about 15 seconds. Microwaving does toughen them slightly, but if I eat them warm, I don’t notice.
High Altitude:
This recipe was developed at about 4500 feet. Please take that into account when baking at your own altitude.
Tip:
Here’s a satisfying, FODMAP-friendly traveler’s breakfast: One or two Almond-Oat Muffins, an ounce or two of meat, and a small bowl of berries or a quarter of an orange.
*Note: KB contains a trace of onion. If you’re excruciatingly onion-sensitive, don’t risk this—but it helps the muffins look like gingerbread, and eye appeal is important.