Coconut Flour Cinnamon Muffins

My boys would love it if I got up at the crack of dawn on school days and made cinnamon rolls, but I don't see that happening, so I made some muffins that have the flavor of cinnamon rolls, without all the work.
I make these up in the evening, and all they have to do is pop one in the microwave for about 10 seconds for a warm breakfast that is filling and tasty. They also freeze well, so you can double the recipe and freeze some.
This recipe makes 6 muffins.

Ingredients:
1/2 C coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
4 eggs, room temperature
1/3 C sour cream or yogurt
1/2 C honey

For the cinnamon mixture:
1 1/2 TBS cinnamon
2 TBS honey
3 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS melted butter
1/4 C chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350*F and place liners in your muffin tin or grease them.

1. In a medium bowl, mix together coconut flour, baking soda and salt.

2. Add your eggs, sour cream and honey to the coconut flour mixture, making sure to mix well. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow coconut flour to absorb liquid while you make the cinnamon mixture.

3. Combine all of your cinnamon mixture in a small bowl.

4. Using an ice cream scoop, put the muffin mix into your muffin tin, filling them about 1/3 of the way. Place a spoonful of the cinnamon mix in the center of the batter, and top with batter to about 2/3 full.

5. Spread another spoonful of cinnamon mixture on top of the batter.

6. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I whip up some icing for them while they are still warm, but they are good without it.

Gluten Free Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

An honest to goodness gluten free cinnamon roll that is soft, and has caused my family to ask me repeatedly, "are you SURE that these are gluten free?"
I can promise you that these are sure to get rave reviews from anyone that you serve them to.

Ingredients for the sauce:
1/4 C butter
1/2 C brown sugar
2 TBL corn syrup
1 tsp. pure vanilla
2 TBL heavy cream
1/8 tsp. salt

Ingredients for the dough:
2 1/2 C gluten free flour blend (310g of  Krusteaz is what I used )
1/2 C tapioca starch
1 TBL rapid rise yeast
3 TBL granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 C instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 C butter
1/2 C water
3/4 C milk
1 egg at room temp
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 TBL extra light olive oil
1 tsp pure vanilla

Ingredients for the filling:
1/2 C brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 TBL cinnamon
2 TBL softened butter
1/2 C chopped nuts (optional)

Let's get busy!

Start by greasing a baking pan ( I use an 8x10 foil pan), and preheat your oven to 350*F

 1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup over medium-low heat, stirring it until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the vanilla, cream and salt. 
Pour your sauce into the greased pan.

2. Mix all of your filling ingredients in a small bowl until they are well combined. Set aside.

3. Mix all of the dry ingredients for your dough in the bowl of a stand mixer, making sure to mix well. You really can't over mix gf flours.

4. In a microwave safe bowl (preferably with a pour spout), heat the water and butter just until the butter melts; stir the milk in, then whisk in egg, vinegar, oil and vanilla. Use a thermometer to make sure that your liquid is at the right temp for the yeast ( 100*-110*). 

5. With your mixer running at medium-low speed, add the liquids to the dry ingredients, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl every so often. Mix for about 3 minutes.

6. Lay a 10x20 inch piece of plastic wrap on your rolling surface(this makes it easier to roll into a cylinder), and sprinkle it with about 1 TBS of sugar. I have found it helpful to put damp paper towels underneath to prevent sliding all over.

7. Place your dough in the center of the wrap, pat it into a square, cover it with another layer of wrap.  Roll it into a rectangle that measures roughly 8x16.

8. Take off the top layer of plastic wrap and sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of one long side uncovered by filling so that you can seal the roll shut.

9. Start on the long side that has filling to the edge, and using the plastic, begin rolling your dough into a long cylinder. 

10. Using a piece of thread, or dental floss, slide the thread under the end of the cylinder, and use it to cut the dough into 8 rolls.

11. Place your rolls into the pan and gently pat them down to about 1 inch high. Cover with a clean, lint free cloth, and place somewhere warm to rise until they are doubled in size( about 35 minutes). I do this on my stove top while the oven warms.

12. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the rolls are a golden brown. 
Let the rolls set up in the pan for about 5-10 minutes, then turn them over onto a serving plate.



This recipe was adapted from The Baking Beauties

Coconut Flour Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins

These muffins can be mixed up in no time at all, freeze well, and are a great grab and go breakfast on a hectic weekday morning.
I used raspberries and rhubarb that I had in the freezer, but you could easily replace them with blueberries, or another fruit.
I was tempted to add chocolate or vanilla chips, but held back for some crazy reason.

Let's get baking :)

Ingredients:
1/3 C (37g) coconut flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 C unsweetened applesauce
3 TBLS honey
3 TBLS butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C raspberries/rhubarb mix (or berries of your choosing)

Preheat oven to 350*F

1. Sift together your dry ingredients

2. Whisk the wet ingredients together.

3. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients; stir until mixed well, and no lumps are left. 

4. Gently fold in your fruit. Let sit for about 5 minutes to allow the coconut flour to absorb the liquids.

5. Scoop by 1/4 C. into greased muffin cups, using an ice cream scoop, (I got 7 out of this batch).

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

7. Let them cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then remove to a rack.

Gluten Free Chicken Spinach Mushroom Quiche

I have never really been a person that feels like eating first thing in the morning, but rather a girl that needs an I.V. hooked to my coffee maker for an hour or so, then I eat what I guess you would call brunch. My son is much like me in that respect (minus the coffee), but when school is in session, I beg him to eat something before he gets on the bus because he has a late lunch time. How can a boy be expected to concentrate when his tummy is growling?

I came up with this recipe on a lazy weekend morning, tossed a few in the freezer, and I am happy to say that he will pull one out and put it in the fridge to defrost overnight every so often and warm it up in the microwave come morning. It makes my heart happy knowing that he has had a healthy breakfast to start his day.

I used some leftover chicken in this batch, but have also made them using bacon, sausage, ham, and even shrimp, because as I have stated before, I like to get all kinds of experimental with my cooking. When I get into one of my frenzies, you never know what I might toss in ;)

In the photo, they were made in my Corningware petite casserole dishes, but I have found that my silicone muffin cups make them  into a wonderful egg *muffin* if you omit the tortilla, that can be held in a boys hand as he rushes out to the bus because he got doodling and forgot the time.

Ingredients
Olive oil, for cooking the mushrooms

1 (10 oz.) bag of baby spinach
5 eggs
1 cup shredded cheese of your taste (I used an Italian blend this time)
8 oz. of mushrooms, chopped ( I used portobello, but if you aren't a fan of mushrooms, try red peppers, asparagus, onions, etc.)
1 cooked, diced chicken breast, (or whatever meat you prefer)
2 TBLS. heavy cream
Gluten-free corn tortillas 
Salt, pepper, or whatever seasonings you prefer. I used Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb Seasoning

The amount of muffins, or the size of your quiche all depends on what size cups, or pans you use.

Preheat your oven to 375*

If you are making quiche, lightly spray your dish with oil and place corn tortillas in the bottom, like a pie crust. I find this much easier to do if I warm them in the microwave for a few seconds.
If you are doing muffins, spray your muffin cups, and omit the tortillas.
I use silicone muffin cups, which makes them easy to pop out.

Heat a little oil in a large skillet, and cook the mushrooms over medium-high heat until they are soft, Remove from the pan and set aside.

Turn the heat down to medium and just pour the spinach into the pan that you used for the mushrooms. Add maybe a dash of water and give it a stir with your spatula, Cook just until the spinach is wilted, maybe 3-4 minutes, drain the excess liquid before adding to quiche.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and cream until blended. Stir in the meat (if desired), mushrooms, spinach and cheese. Add your seasonings.

Pour into tortilla lined dishes, or divide the mixture evenly among your muffin cups.

Bake for aproximately  20-25 minutes for muffins, slightly longer for the mini quiches. You will know they are done when they are set in the center, and a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.
Let them set to cool for a few minutes, and enjoy.