If you have trouble getting your kid to eat zucchini, look no further! These light fluffy muffins are packed with zucchini, yet they are moist & delicious (and they also happen to be gluten-free*)! They are perfect for breakfast or a quick snack. I really like the flavor that using sucanat adds, but if you have trouble finding sucanat, regular light brown sugar will do.
* Spelt flour is a good subsitute for people with a low intolerance for wheat, though some people with serious wheat allergies, such as those with celiac disease, are also allergic to spelt. In that case, you should try replacing the flour with a 100% gluten free baking mix (most grocery stores carry a blend for general flour replacing).
I have been experimenting with some gluten-free cooking lately, which was inspired by one of my sisters, who is also soy free (be on the look out for my gluten & soy-free pumpkin pie around the holidays)! I love learning about different kinds of baking… its all science really. Sometimes your experiment ends with a truly amazing result… sometimes it doesnt turn out like you hoped. Thats when you try a different ingredient, a different flour… one tiny change in a recipe can take it to an entirely different place. I love baking more than any other kind of cooking!
~Zucchini Muffins~
- 1 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk… Stick with almond milk if you are making a soy-free muffin)
- 3 Tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 cups spelt flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/3 cup canola oil (or use half oil, half applesauce)
- 1/2 cup packed sucanat**
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray/grease muffin tin. In a small/medium bowl, whisk the milk & flax well. Add the vinegar, mix, and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
Add the canola oil, brown sugar & vanilla to the milk mixture. Make a well in the center of the flour bowl & pour in the liquid mixture. Stir to combine then fold in the zucchini.
Fill muffin cups and cook 25-28 minutes, until tops are firm and knife inserted into the center of a muffin comes out free of batter. Since spelt flour is tender, let the muffins cool for about 15-20 minutes in the muffin pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely, to avoid the tops breaking off.
You’d never know these were gluten-free muffins!
** Sucanat is made by simply crushing the sugar cane to squeeze out the juice, heating it until it’s a rich syrup and aerating it by hand-paddling to create a porous granule. It hasn’t been separated, blended, refined or filtered. It has a distinct molasses flavor that enhances many foods. You can use sucanat as a 1-for-1 replacement for refined brown sugar. It is found with the other brown sugars in the grocery store/health food supermarket.
Your Vegan Neighbor 