The men in the house have been very good about making dinner while mom is laid up in bed with her poor broken foot. But sometimes they get busy and I am left alone for hours and they’ve been kind of sketchy on breakfast and lunch. Now after hauling myself around on one leg, it has occurred to me that it would be easier if I were, perhaps, say 20 pounds lighter and had stuck to my upper body workout goals. And while the guys have been rather strict about portion control as they serve up my meals. (You only eat two tacos, right?) Mama needed some kind of sustenance for between meals and breakfasts. A batch of Elana’s savory muffins worked for a day, but son gobbled up half the batch.
So yesterday I lured him into the kitchen and asked him to help with a batch of cranberry muffins. They were supposed to be almond flour based lemon cranberry muffin. But we were out of lemons and as I measured out the almond flour, it was obvious we were a cup short. Then the sweetener and flavorings change. I had a partial bottle of Wholesome Strawberry Agave that we had been using on plain yogurt and oatmeal. So here is the recipe that resulted in a burst of berry muffin that satisfied Mama’s craving for something bready and filling and slightly sweet after the crawling up the stairs all week blues.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup hazelnut meal
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup Wholesome Strawberry Agave
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Line a muffin tray with baking cups.
- Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Combine eggs and agave.
- Add dry to wet and then stir in cranberries and coconut.
- Divide batter evenly among the twelve muffin cups.
- Bake about 20 minutes or until muffins are golden brown and firm.
And in the interest of full disclosure, for those of you following my new “In My Gluten-Free Kitchen” series and commenting on how tidy my kitchen is…
This is what it looks like when the men are in charge. Sorry it’s a little lopsided. Everything I do is a little wonky these days.
I’m linking up to Amy’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Linda’s Gluten-Free Wednesdays and Allergy-Free Wednesdays.
I also linked up to a fun roundup of lunches at Allergy-Free Vintage Cookery. This recipe is also part of Shirley’s March muffin Madness.
These look fantastic! I’ve never used hazelnut meal. Is it similar to almond flour?
I’d love for you to share this recipe at a new allergy-free blog hop that launches tomorrow. Myself, along with 4 other bloggers, will be hosting. You can find it at willingcook.com. Hope to see you there!
I tried hazelnut flour in a recipe from Elana’s new cupcake cookbook. It seemed to work like almond flour in that recipe, so I used some I had in the freezer to fill in for the missing almond flour and the muffins turned out just as I expected a 100% almond flour recipe to work. It does add a brown color that the almond meal doesn’t. I’ll look for you blog hop tomorrow, Michelle.
I’m glad you shared this recipe at Allergy-Free Wednesdays. I hope you’ll come back again next week!
Thanks for inviting me, Michelle.
That kitchen still looks pretty good to me! Sorry about your foot. I hope the men leave the muffins to you this time!
Drat, the last one was gone when I crawled upstairs this morning.
Oh, dear! I am so sorry to hear that you broke your foot. This must be a challenge but by the looks of your (still) neat kitchen I think you have trained the men pretty well. I love that you shared the lopsided photo. It is good to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor in the midst of this. The muffins sure look delightful. Wishing you a speedy recovery and lavish in the rest while the men wait on you awhile.
Thanks for the good wishes, Debbie. If you ask the menfolk, I have had only brief glimpses of good humor.
Yum! I’ve been playing with hazelnut flour lately and just love the flavor it imparts.
Yes it does add a subtle flavor that almond flour alone doesn’t have. I liked using a little of both.
These look so very good! Loved the pic with your tea cozy too by the way! I will have to look for the strawberry agave!!!
Feel better soon!
Thanks, Sherri. I got that tea cozy in Wales a few years ago. Just love it too. Reminds me of all the sheep everywhere we went in Britain.
Just looking at those muffins makes me hungry. I have celiac disease and am extremely grateful for any gluten-free recipes. By the way, have you ever used the buckwheat flour? I am just asking this because Hibiscus Cafe, my favourite Toronto eatery that specializes in gluten-free cuisine, uses it a lot. I have heard that it is not easy to digest. Can this be true?
Hi Kate. Some people rave about buckwheat and have no problems. It doesn’t work for me or my daughter, but we have trouble with a lot of gluten-free grains. The nut flour baked goods seem to sit well and satisfy that need for something bready.
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These look great! Thanks for sharing at allergy-free Wednesday! We can’t have nuts or eggs but I’m sure other readers will enjoy them. Hope to see you next week.
I love how the shortage of one ingredient (or two) can lead you to create something different but wonderful. These look and sound yummy!
Hope you are healing well. That climbing up and down the stairs gets old quickly I’m sure. I agree with everyone else that given the situation, the kitchen still looks pretty good. 
Incidentally, dear, I still don’t get your updates. When I try to subscribe, I get the message that I am already subscribed. Technology! Grrr.
Healing hugs to you,
Shirley
Recover fast!! Just had to comment on your nice kitchen. Messy it is, but at least you have a big enough kitchen for people to mess up and still have room to work and move around. My work area is about 10% of yours — so there’s a bit of envy there!! Coming from a large family of 12 kids, I’m used to small spaces for me, me, me, but it gets a bit frustrating. Going to try the muffins. I’m always looking for grain free recipes and even am going to try adapting other recipes myself. Just got into Paleo living!
What an easy recipe to make! I don’t use agave in any form so I substituted 1/4 cup coconut nectar blended in my vita mix with 3 large, chopped frozen strawberries. I also used frozen raspberries (thawed slightly) instead of cranberries. What I love about these kind of recipes is how easy they are on which to make substitutes with equal or better results. Yummy, yummy!!! ….and thank you for the inspiration.
Looks scrumptious! Would you like to link up to my Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love link party?
http://allergyfreecookery.blogspot.com/2012/01/allergy-friendly-lunchbox-love-18.html
I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want to find these in their lunchbox
Lisa @ Allergy Free Vintage Cookery
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Thank you for sharing an allergy free recipe.:)
These muffins look amazing and I love that they are grain-free. I will be featuring your great recipe this week on Allergy Free Wednesdays