Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Muffins and a Giveaway!

Are you enjoying your holiday season so far? Lots of preparations under way? I'll be honest that I haven't been able to do too much baking yet, but I plan to get some things baked this weekend.

I think I might make these muffins again. They are that good, and work perfectly for a fall or winter treat or gift for someone special. This muffin recipe comes straight out of "Fast and Simple Gluten-Free: 30 Minutes or Less to Fresh and Classic Favorites" - the recently-released cookbook written by Gretchen Brown of kumquat blog. I'm giving away a copy of this book at the bottom of this post, so don't forget to enter for your chance to win!

I have gotten to "know" Gretchen a little through the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally (look forward to the day when I can meet so many of these bloggers in person!) and I love her blog. Naturally I was thrilled when she asked  about interest in reviewing her cookbook.

Gretchen provided me with a copy of this book to review and give away and I can't be anything but honest with you when I tell you that this is my new favorite all-purpose and more gluten-free cookbook. In fact, I've used this book so much before the review that some of the pages got dirty, so I'm keeping this copy and providing a new copy for the giveaway.

This book is simply amazing, and not just for "gluten-free." Anyone would love this book. Unlike other "fast" cookbooks I have intended to give you recipes in 30 minutes or less and you end up spending more than hour on them, this book truly delivers recipes that take 30 minutes or less. The recipes range from beverages to entrees, sides to desserts and more. She has a few recipes in the back that take a little more time, and states so. They are worth it, though, and don't take too much time. These muffins are one of those recipes.

I have already made several of the recipes in this book (including entrees), and my family and I have loved every one of them. You won't be disappointed to receive this book as a holiday gift for yourself or to give to someone else. Gretchen fills the pages with tips and gorgeous photos. I've always loved her food photos. She is also a registered dietitian, so she doesn't steer you wrong with ingredients.

You'll want to enter yourself for a chance to win at the bottom.

Pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins
From pg. 160 Fast and Simple Gluten-Free: 30 Minutes or Less to Fresh and Classic Favorites

Ingredients:
1 1/2 (210 grams) Kumquat's Gluten-Free All Pupose Flour Blend (see link or page 15 of book) or gluten-free all-purpose flour (*Caneel's note: something like Pamela's baking mix would work here)
1 teaspoon baking powder (*Caneel's note: Cut back on all leavening agents if you are using a blend that already contains them)
1 teaspoon baking soda (*see note above)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (*see note above, some blends already contain salt)
1/2 cup (120 ml) canola oil (*Caneel's note: I used extra light olive oil)
1 cup (225 g) packed brown sugar (*Caneel's note: I used dark brown)
1 cup (245 g) canned pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (175 g) miniature chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200 degrees Celsius, or gas mark 6).

Line 12 muffin tins with cupcake wrappers.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Combine the oil, brown sugar, pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir the oil mixture into the flour mixture until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin pan. Bake for 21 minutes and then cool on a rack.

Enjoy!

The giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Marci who is the winner!

Now, here's how to enter for a chance to win this fabulous cookbook:

This giveaway is for one copy of  "Fast and Simple Gluten-Free: 30 Minutes or Less to Fresh and Classic Favorites" and the entry period begins today, December 13, 2012 and will end on Thursday, December 20, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. CST. The winner will be picked through the Random Sequence Generator on Random.org. 

***My apologies, but this giveaway is only open to residents of the United States.***

You are eligible for up to seven entries in this giveaway. To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what type of recipe you'd be most excited to make out of this cookbook (only one comment per person will be counted this way, and this counts as one entry).

Additional entries may be earned by leaving a comment EACH TIME you do one of the following (you get an entry for each one only if you leave a comment for each):

2. "Like" Mama Me Gluten Free on Facebook (if you already "like" the blog on Facebook, that also counts as an entry) and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

3. Follow @MamaMeGF on Twitter (if you already follow, that counts as an entry), then leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

4. Share this giveaway on Facebook with a link to this post, and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

5. Share this giveaway on Twitter: "I want to win "Fast & Simple gluten-free" cookbook @MamaMeGF! http://bit.ly/XXzGr3 " and then leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

6. Subscribe to Mama Me Gluten Free RSS feed, then leave a comment here telling me you've done this. (If you already subscribe, then that counts too - just leave a comment letting me know!)

7. "Like" Gretchen's kumquat blog on facebook and then leave a comment here telling me you've done this. 

You must leave a comment on this post for each of things if you want an entry for each one. Only one comment per item per person will be counted. In other words, if you comment more than one time saying you "like" Mama Me on facebook, only one of those comments will be counted, etc. On the other hand, if you only leave one comment saying you did all of these things, you will only get one entry rather than seven.
********Be sure to leave a contact email if you are posting anonymously or don't have a way to contact you listed in your profile!

Good luck! 

*In the interest of full disclosure, Gretchen Brown had a copy of this book provided to me for review. Mama Me Gluten Free is purchasing a copy for the giveaway. I was not compensated in any other way, and the opinions of this book are entirely my own.

Blue Corn Raspberry Muffins, and a Cookbook Giveaway

*NOTE: The giveaway has now ended. Congratulations to the winner, Britt T., of comment #2!

"Mmmm, these muffins are really good, Mommy ... No. They're SUPER-good!" my 5-year-old proclaimed with her first bite at breakfast this morning. I had to agree, as did the rest of the family. The flavor combination in these muffins really explodes in your mouth, and we'll definitely be making them again.

I adapted the recipe from "Corny Raspberry Muffins" out of "The Whole Family Cookbook" by Michelle Stern, founder of What's Cooking With Kids. Do you know Michelle, or know of her? She is one awesome lady. After having her in my Twitter and Facebook world, I had the opportunity to meet her in person at the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) convention in Austin this summer. Her kindness is genuine, and her passion is contagious.

Which brings me to the giveaway I'm sponsoring in this post. "The Whole Family Cookbook" is not a gluten-free cookbook, but many of the recipes are naturally gluten-free and many others are easily converted to be gluten-free (like this muffin recipe). I like the cookbook so much that I want to share it with one of you.

Michelle makes the recipes friendly for kids aged 2 and up with color-coded steps according to what's appropriate for each age. She celebrates local foods, and healthy meals, in her book. It's a great cookbook for anyone, even if you don't have a family! She has lots of great tips in the book, as well. Details on the giveaway at the end of this post.

I've been wanting to make these muffins for a while, and I'm so glad I finally did it. I've adapted them to be gluten-free with a few other changes. Because muffin batter is fairly forgiving, I decided to go with standard measuring cups for this recipe rather than pull out the scale since I know some of you haven't been convinced of that form of measuring yet. I personally prefer the scale - it's sooo much easier to just dump all the ingredients into one bowl without using various cups! (And I generally get a much better result and crumb by weight than cup.)However, I also meant to weigh how much each cup weighs for those of you who are international or have been converted like I have, and I forgot. I will be making these again, and will note the weight next time and come back to add it.

Projected prep time: 10 minutes; Projected bake time: 20 minutes
Makes approximately 15-16 muffins
(Printable Recipe)

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour (*Note: you can probably just use brown rice. I'm trying it next time.)
1/2 cup blue cornmeal
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1 tbsp. milled flax seed
1/2 cup packed pure brown cane sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 scant tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/4 cups vanilla yogurt
3 tbsp. organic canola oil
Zest of one large lemon
2 large eggs
1 cup fresh raspberries, washed and drained
1/2 tsp. organic pure cane sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin tin with baking cups or grease tin.

Measure flours, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. This is a good step to be done the night before if making in the morning.

In a separate bowl, mix yogurt and canola oil.

Add lemon zest to dry ingredients.

Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl, and add to yogurt and oil, stirring to combine.

In a small bowl, mix raspberries with 1/2 tsp. of sugar and set aside.

Pour yogurt mixture into dry ingredients and stir just until blended. The batter will immediately begin to rise from the baking soda.

Spoon batter into baking cups or greased muffin tin, then spoon a few raspberries into each cup. Sprinkle a few grains of sugar onto tops of each on the batter.

Am I the only one who has raspberries fall apart after gently washing them?

Bake for 20 minutes, or until muffins bounce back when you touch them gently in the center.

Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

*NOTE: The giveaway has now ended. Congratulations to the winner, Britt T., of comment #2!

Giveaway for one copy of "The Whole Family Cookbook" begins today, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011, and ends Friday, Sept. 9, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) CST. The giveaway is only open to U.S. residents, I'm sorry. The winner will be picked through the Random Sequence Generator on Random.org.

You are eligible for up to six entries in this giveaway. To enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite muffin is (only one comment per person will be counted this way).

Additional entries may be earned by (Edit to say: Each one is an entry if you leave a comment for each letting me know):

1. "Like" Mama Me Gluten Free on Facebook (if you already "like" the blog on facebook, that also counts as an entry), then leave a comment here telling me you have done this.

2. Follow @MamaMeGF on Twitter (if you already follow, that counts as an entry), then leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

3. Share this giveaway and recipe on Twitter: "I want to win The Whole Family Cookbook @MamaMeGF! http://bit.ly/qRweEN " and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

4. Share this giveaway and recipe on Facebook with a link to this post, and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

5. Subscribe to Mama Me Gluten Free RSS feed, then leave a comment here telling me you've done this. (Edit to say: If you already subscribe, then that counts too - just leave a comment letting me know!)

You must leave a comment on this post for each of things if you want an entry for each one. Only one comment per item per person will be counted. In other words, if you comment more than one time saying you "like" Mama Me on facebook, only one of those comments will be counted, etc.
*Be sure to leave a contact email if you are posting anonymously!


Good luck! :)

Miss C's Raisin Oatmeal Muffins

It's pretty exciting for a child of any age to get the opportunity to help out in the kitchen, and it's exciting for everyone when that child comes up with a recipe all on her own and it comes out with huge success and everyone is more than delighted to eat every last crumb.

That's what happened for my 8-year-old this morning. She wanted to make muffins, but not just any muffins. "Raisin Oatmeal" muffins - all from her own recipe creation. She pretty much knew exactly what ingredients she wanted in these muffins and for the most part she knew the exact measurements of each ingredient. With very little help on a couple of ingredients and their proportions, Miss C's raisin oatmeal muffins came out perfect and delicious.

I hadn't even used oatmeal in gluten-free muffins yet, so it was a trial all the way around - and one I'm glad my daughter insisted on. As my mother, who is visiting at the moment, stated while she ate a muffin with her tea, "These are perfect dunking muffins!"

Projected prep time: 5-10 minutes; Projected bake time: 18 minutes

Makes 12 muffins

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla

2 1/4 cup Pamela's baking and pancake mix

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup certified gluten-free rolled oats

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with baking cups.

Mix dry ingredients together and then add liquid. Fold in raisins.

Hold bowl for little sister while she stirs the ingredients together.

Bake for about 16-18 minutes. Muffins are done when they spring back when touched, and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Eat them warm or at room temperature, but they are really good warm!

Enjoy!

Bananatella Cream Bites

These mini-muffins are amazing!

 I had inspiration the other day when I was making banana bread. I love nutella and bananas together, especially when they are hot. Yum. I started thinking of a way to combine this with banana bread, and while I'm sure you could use this filling in the middle of banana bread (which I plan on trying!), I wanted it in something bite-sized. Like mini-muffins.

I just wasn't sure what to mix it with to get the right texture. Ricotta? Nutella and ricotta together is amazing, and I love desserts with this, but it's not the texture I wanted. Eggs? I wasn't sure if that would bake exactly how I wanted it to. Cream cheese? Hmmmm ...

Projected prep time: 10 minutes; Projected bake time: Approximately 18 minutes.
*Note: I actually can't remember the exact bake time because I was baking different things in the oven at the same time and forgot to write it down. I know I checked at 15 minutes and felt like they needed longer, so I turned them around and reset the timer. I was also doing this for the other items. I may have taken them out three minutes later, maybe five, maybe more. I wish I could tell you. Next time I make them, I'll keep a better record and come back and edit this.
This is the same list of ingredients for my banana bread, minus the Salba seed. My banana bread is dairy-free, soy-free but these aren't because of the nutella, but feel free to make your own chocolate hazelnut spread and try these!
Muffins:
1/4 c. expeller-pressed extra-virgin coconut oil (see this recipe on why)
1 tsp. sea salt
1 c. organic sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c. white rice flour
3/4 c. brown rice flour
1/4 tsp. gluten-free, aluminum-free baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda (see this recipe on how I measure baking soda)
4 bananas (very ripe), beaten creamy
3 heaping tsp. milled flax seed (optional, but why not?)
Filling:
1/3 c. nutella
1/3 c. cream cheese

Add salt to oil and gradually add sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour together with soda, baking powder and milled flax seed. Mash bananas and add alternately with dry ingredients until all is well-mixed.

Mix nutella and cream cheese together.

Very well ...

And then take a little spoonful of it to taste it. Oh my yum.

Have ready a mini-muffin tin (or you could do big muffins, might need to adjust filling amount) lined with baking cups and put a dollop of batter into each cup.

Add a little nutella/cream cheese filling

And another dollop of batter

Bake at 350 degrees the appropriate amount of time (see note above). They are done when they bounce back after lightly pressing on them. To be sure, insert a toothpick into the muffin on the side where the filling isn't and see if it comes out clean.

Move to wire rack to cool

Serve them while they are still warm.

Enjoy every bite!

Fiber Power Sunrise Muffins

Flax seed. Salba seed. Quinoa. Amaranth. Coconut flour. Sorghum. Millet. Rice bran. Brown rice. Almond meal, and more. That's a big fiber punch, and you'll find it all in these yummies.

My mom used to make Morning Muffins from the Uncle Sam cereal. I loved them, and wanted to try to mimic them GF. Using that recipe, I changed nearly everything and came up with this one. This was my first try, and I'll probably make some changes if I make them again. I'm going to go ahead and share the recipe with you, though, because they were pretty darn tasty and the kids loved them -- eating a total of three each for breakfast and declaring they were some of the best muffins they'd ever eaten. My husband also told me just now that he didn't think there was anything at all wrong with them, taste or texture. "They're GREAT!" he said.

They certainly aren't dry muffins, which I guess is a good thing considering how fiber muffins sometimes can be, but be sure to drink plenty of water or another liquid with them.

I'll go ahead and tell you what changes I plan to make in the future, in case you want to go ahead and make them with these changes. I wasn't crazy about the crumb. It was a little too moist, kind of gummy. It reminded me exactly of the English popovers I made before going GF. I loved them and they tasted great, but it's not necessarily what you expect when you bite into a muffin. It wasn't enough for me to say don't try the recipe, though, because the texture wasn't gross -- I just want to work on it. I'd like for them to be a little less dense and rise a little more. I may experiment a little more with the flour blends I used and omit something and/or change measurements.

I'll be using 1/4 cup less sugar next time. The cereal used in this recipe is sweeter than the Uncle Sam cereal, therefore I should have used a little less sugar.

I was distracted when I was measuring and pouring the buttermilk. I honestly can't tell you whether I used 1 3/4 cups of buttermilk or 2 1/2 cups. If I used 2 1/2 cups, that may explain the crumb and may solve the problem mentioned above. Still, the batter was thick and didn't seem like I'd put too much in it once it was all mixed. The amount of fiber really soaks up moisture. I'll be starting out with 1 3/4 cups in the future and adding up to 2 1/2 cups, total, if it seems too dry.

I used canola oil because I wasn't sure with the coconut flour if using extra virgin coconut oil would give too much coconut flavor. Next time I'll be trying it with organic extra virgin coconut oil.

So, here is the recipe as I made it:

Projected prep time: 10 min; Projected bake time: 22-30 minutes (it was 27 minutes in my oven)
Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen in standard muffin tins
3 c. Nature's Path Mesa Sunrise cereal
2 tbsp. whole flax seed
2 tbsp. whole Salba seed
1/4 c. coconut flour
1 c. Pamela's bread mix & flour blend
1 1/4 c. Pamela's baking & pancake mix
1 tsp. gluten-free, aluminum-free baking powder
1 1/2 c. organic sugar (see note above about the sugar, I'll be using 1 1/4 c. next time)
2 large eggs
3 tsp. fresh orange zest or 1 tsp. dried orange peel
1/3 c. canola oil (see note above)
1/3 c. orange juice (if you use fresh zest, just use fresh orange juice!)
1 3/4 c. - 2 1/2 c. buttermilk  (see note above)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin tins with baking cups or butter the tins very well.

In large mixing bowl, combine cereal, seeds, flours, baking powder and sugar. I did this the night before and covered it, having it ready to add wet ingredients in the morning.

In separate bowl, whisk eggs, orange zest, oil, orange juice and buttermilk together. Pour into bowl of dry ingredients and mix well. (See note above about buttermilk amount.)

Fill muffin tins about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

Bake for approximately 22 to 30 minutes, depending on oven. Muffins are done when browned on top and bounce back when pressed on. Insert toothpick in center to make sure no wet batter remains. The crumb is moist as this recipe is, so you may have moist crumb on the toothpick but it shouldn't be wet batter.

If I revise this recipe in the future, I'll add the edits into this post. Enjoy!