Three New Cookbooks, Three Home Cooks - Part 2

“Miss E, I had some of the muffins that Mason made for you. On a scale of 1-10, they were a #10!” So said an enthusiastic Third-Grader at the school where I work.  Mason’s mom, Julie, had made the gluten-free “Apple Spice Muffins” recipe from the new Zenbelly Cookbook, An Epicurean’s Guide to Paleo Cuisine by Simone Miller, and Mason shared them with his friend.
  

Photograph downloaded from www.zenbelly.com

To quote from the author’s website: “Simone is a chef on a mission: To prove that gluten-free and paleo cuisine can be just as gourmet, refined, and artfully presented as what you’d find in a fine bistro.” 

In addition to her recipes, Ms. Miller includes a list of recommended ingredients (many by product name), basic instructions on how to “cook like a pro,” and - a feature that I like - a photograph of all the ingredients used in each recipe.

Mason’s Apple Spice Muffins

Ingredients:

Muffin tin with parchment muffin liners

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon coconut sugar, divided
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt

Wet Ingredients:

3 eggs
1/4 cup softened unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 medium Granny Smith Apples

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with parchment liners.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, arrowroot powder, coconut flour, 1/4 cup of the coconut sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, baking soda, and salt.

3.  In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, shortening and vanilla.

4.  Peel and core the apples.  Chop one apple into a small dice and grate the other apple.

5.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.  Mix in the grated apple and the diced apple.

6.  Divide the batter among the the muffin cups, filling them two-thirds full.

7.  In a small bowl, combine the remaining tablespoon of coconut sugar and the remaining teaspoon of cinnamon.  Sprinkle this mixture over the top of each muffin.

Pyper, photograph by Julie

8.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.  Allow the muffins to cool on a wire rack before removing them from the pan.

Summary:

While Julie said it was a bit challenging to find all of the ingredients, she has enough left over to make the muffins again. The kids mentioned how wonderful the house smelled as the muffins were baking - and they were so popular, I will have to wait until next time to taste that #10!

Photograph by Julie

#paleo #glutenfree #muffins #kidscooking #applespices #zenbelly #foodie