I love that you can take anything, make it miniature, and it’s instantly cute. Baby shoes, cute. Little nail polishes, cute. Mini Tobasco, cute. And of course, bite-sized muffins… cute. This is a universal truth. I made these little spiced apple muffins for Easter brunch a few weeks ago. They started out as an experiment with a new gluten-free flour blend, but turned out so well that I thought I’d share.

You’ll notice the recipe calls for a whole-grain flour mix. You can use plain ol’ whole wheat flour or your favorite gluten-free flour blend. There are pre-blended mixes out there, or you can try making your own by combining your gluten-free favorites (almond, buckwheat, brown rice, tapioca, etc.). I’ll post more about gluten-free flour blends soon. G-free folks, stay tuned!

Spiced Apple Muffins

Ingredients:

350 grams whole-grain flour mix (about 1 1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs (or whisk together 2 tbsp ground flax seed + 6 tbsp water = 2 eggs)
300 grams milk (cow, almond, rice, soy…your choice)
1/2 cup applesauce
50 grams coconut oil, melted
1 apple, peeled and diced small

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin pan (12 large or 24 mini).
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom). In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and applesauce. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in diced apple.
Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.