Pecan Pie Muffins, Low Carb, Gluten Free

Pecan Pie Muffins, Low Carb, Gluten Free

Pecan Pie Muffins, Low Carb, Gluten Free

To be honest, I enjoy my time on social media.  One of the things I find interesting is when folks share their food creations.  I recently came upon a very sugar-laden, high carb version of this recipe and thought, "Ooo!  I can remake that!"  So I did.

This version has lots of good fats and fiber, negligible carbs and are wonderfully tasty.  Enjoy!

Pecan Pie Muffins, Low Carb, Gluten Free

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.  Spray a 6-cup muffin tin with olive oil cooking spray, or spray 6 muffin cups of a 12-cup muffin pan and put about 1 tablespoon of water into each of the remaining muffin cups.  This protects the pan and helps maintain humidity in the oven.

In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat until light:

3 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons butter 

Add and continue mixing:

1/4 cup coconut sugar
3 tablespoons xylitol
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I make my own)

Add and beat until combined:

2 eggs

Add, continuing to mix until combined:

1/4 cup ground coconut
1 tablespoon ground flax seed meal

Stir in by hand:

1 cup pecans, soaked and dehydrated

Divide the batter evenly between the 6 muffin cups.  Bake them at 350F for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown and a knife comes out clean when poked into the muffins.

Cool before serving...  or don't ;)  

Low Carb Blueberry Muffins with Pecan Coconut Topping

Low Carb Blueberry Muffins with Pecan Coconut Topping

Low Carb Blueberry Muffins with Pecan Coconut Topping

I love muffins!  Years ago I came across a "master muffin" recipe and have memorized it.  This enables me to make just about any kind of muffin I want without much difficulty.  In this case, I have modified that basic recipe to include blueberries with a Pecan Coconut Topping.  The muffins are very moist and the topping is crunchy.  Yum!

Preheat the oven to 400F and spray a standard muffin pan with olive oil cooking spray.  Set it aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients:

2/3 cup almond flour
1/3 cup ground or finely shredded, unsweetened coconut (regular shredded coconut can be ground more finely by putting it into a food processor and grinding it for a few seconds)
1/2 + 2 tablespoons cup coconut flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed meal
2 tablespoons whole flax seeds
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup measurable stevia baking product (like Stevia in the Raw for baking)
1/4 cup coconut or coconut palm sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use Himalayan pink salt)

In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup water or milk or milk alternative
2 teaspoons lime juice (lemon or apple cider vinegar would be fine.  Its purpose is to activate the baking powder)
1/4 cup olive oil, melted butter or liquid coconut oil

Set these aside.

In another bowl combine the crumble topping ingredients until crumbly:

1/4 almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup coconut or coconut palm sugar
1 packet stevia based sweetener (like Truvia)
2 tablespoons butter

Set this aside.

Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.  Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and sprinkle the topping over the muffins.  There should not be any excess topping.  Bake the muffins for 15 to 18 minutes or until they are firm and browned.  They are a bit darker than traditional muffins because of the brown sugar color of the coconut sugar.  Allow the muffins to rest in the pan for about 5 minutes before slipping a knife around the edges to loosen the from the pan.  Remove them to a plate to cool.  Enjoy!

Refrigerate or freeze any extras.

Pulp Muffins with Crumble Topping -- Another Juice Pulp Recipe

Another Juice Pulp Recipe -- Pulp Muffins

Juice Pulp Muffins with Crumble Topping

I'm doing another juice fast, and I just can't bring myself to throw away the pulp.  In this recipe, I specifically had carrot, celery, kiwi fruit, apple and cranberries in the juice I made this morning.  I ran the pulp through twice to get any excess moisture out, then I threw together these muffins.

Juice Pulp Muffins with Crumble Topping

Makes 12 muffins

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.  Spray with cooking oil spray one 12-cup muffin tin.  Set this aside.

In a mixing bowl combine:

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup oil

Add about 1 1/2 cups leftover pulp from juicing (see paragraph above)

Stir in:

2 cups unbleached flour (or whatever "flour" combination suits you)

1 tablespoon baking powder

(1/4 teaspoon sea salt, optional)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

I had to add some additional liquid to get the batter so it wasn't too thick.  It should be spoonable and not runny.  Scoop the batter into the prepared pan by scant 1/2 cupfuls.  Make sure there's an equal amount of batter in each muffin cup.

Prepare the Crumble Topping.  In a small bowl work the mixture together with a fork until it is well combined:

1/3 cup flour (as above)

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons butter

Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the crumble topping on each of the muffins.  Bake the muffins at 400F for about 20 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.  These a quite moist and dense, so it may take more time.

Enjoy!