Banana, almond butter & chocolate gluten-free muffins

Photographer: Emma
Makes 12 muffins

These muffins are good, honest food for both the body and soul.  They are guaranteed to satisfy any sweet cravings that may plague you whilst simultaneously providing you with belly-filling healthy fats, protein, antioxidants, potassium and vitamin E.

Do not be put off!  With such a squeaky clean introduction it is only natural you might assume the finished product be cardboard-like in both taste and texture when in fact quite the opposite is true.  These muffins, despite being entirely gluten-free, have a light, fluffy texture.  The addition of the banana and blueberries makes them beautifully moist and the chocolate and chia seeds add sweetness and texture.

I have experimented with using several types of nut butter in this recipe with varying results.  Almond and peanut butters yield a more tasty muffin while muffins with cashew nut butter were a lot less tasty.  I made a deliciously summery batch last week where I stewed nectarines in tangelo juice and added them to the mixture in the place of the blueberries.  They were delicious!

I have a lot of hungry mouths to feed so these muffins don’t last much longer than 2 days in our household.  If you think they might last longer than this in yours then I would advise you keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.  Or alternatively you could freeze them.

INGREDIENTS


200g almond butter
2 bananas
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup chia seeds
50g good quality dark chocolate, chopped

METHOD


1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C on bake. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
2. Place the almond butter and bananas in a food process and process until smooth. Add the eggs, cider vinegar, vanilla extract, honey and baking powder and process until just combined.
3. Pour the batter into a bowl and add the blueberries, chia seeds and chocolate and mix until combined. Divide the mixture between the muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.