Alpenglow Muffins.....

Yesterday I baked ten dozen muffins! Thats a lot of muffins. Not for me I might add. I was fulfilling my volunteer commitment to Isobel's school and that meant baking, lots of baking! It was actually quite nice to have a couple of hours of baking without the usual "helping hands" I have at home :) Although I must admit it was tough to bake without eating a single muffin or licking a single spoon! Anyway back to the muffins....these are the muffins that are served to the kids along with their shared fruit and veggies at snack time at the school. They are made with buckwheat flour and are vegan, gluten free, wheat free and contain no sugar, only the natural sweetness of ripe bananas and unsweetened apple sauce. The magical combination of baking soda and apple cider vinegar gives them a lovely lightness.  In other words they are about as good for you as a muffin can get and still taste lovely! This morning I baked a batch for home and thought I would share the recipe here for any of you looking for good, wholesome kid-friendly baking without all the nasties.  I've kept the recipe plain but of course you could add some yummy nuts or fruits or serve them with a drizzle of honey if you have a really sweet tooth. 

Banana, Buckwheat Muffins:

Ingredients

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 tablespoon ground flax seed combined with 3 tablespoons of hot water

1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil, melted

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup of unsweetened apple sauce

1/4 cup of water

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 350F and grease a mini muffin tin with coconut oil.

2. Combine the ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of warm water and set aside for 5 - 10 minutes to form a gel.

3. In a mixing bowl combine the buckwheat flour, cinnamon, salt, melted coconut oil, bananas, apple sauce and water.

4. Add the flax seed gel and mix well to form a smooth batter. 

5 . Once the batter is well mixed add the baking soda and apple cider vinegar and quickly fold in the fizzing bubbles! 

6. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin filling each cup 3/4 way. 

7. Bake for approximately 15 minutes until the centres are firm and the tops of the muffins are just starting to crack. I baked my mini muffins for 15 minutes and my full sized muffins for 20-25 minutes. Allow 5 minutes to cool in the muffin tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

The muffins can be stored in an airtight container for a couple of days but for better shelf life in a sealed container in the fridge. 

Enjoy!