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!