my first adventure into grain-free baking.

I bought some almond meal (flour) at Trader Joe's quite some time ago; I had never heard of such a thing and was quite intrigued. Figuring it was a healthier option (and it indeed it is), I was hoping I could use it in place of whole wheat flour. But I read on the back label that you can substitute up to only half the flour a recipe calls for; that using much more than that would cause the baked good to fall apart. So then I kind of forgot about it & it sat lonely on my shelf.

Until a few days ago, when I stumbled upon a slew of grain-free baking recipes that called for it (it all started with a newly-discovered food blog - Detoxinista... I can/have spent hours on there searching recipes!) Turns out Trader Joe's is wrong about their almond flour (so wrong)... it seems to have opened up a whole new world of baking possibilities.

How is it healthy, you may be wondering? According to another great food blog, alena's pantry, it is high in protein, low in carbohydrates and low in sugars. And unlike other alternatives to wheat flour, almond flour is moist and delicious (yay for that!)

Ok, that's enough talking. On to the delicious details.

{GRAIN_FREE} PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE MUFFINS 

(adapted from Spark Recipes // makes 12) 

INGREDIENTS //

2 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup honey

4 Tbl melted butter (or coconut oil)

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 1/2 cups almond flour/meal (I got mine at Trader Joe's. I read that the Rob's Red Mill brand isn't fine enough & needs further grinding. You can also purchase almond flour online.)

1/2 - 1 cup dark chocolate chips (optional // you could also use nuts or raisins)

DIRECTIONS //

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a muffin pan or line with muffin liners.

2. Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a bowl except for the flour and chocolate chips (or other mix-ins of your choosing.

3. Add almond flour and mix until well combined.

4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Yum, yum YUM! I was shocked at how moist and delicious these are, and hubby is obsessed. Let me know if you try it! I have a growing list of more grain-free baking recipes to try... can't wait!!