Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Yum

Even the most skeptical gourmands will fall in love with the vegan gluten-free banana muffins I made this evening. The muffins are so good that I'm posting the recipe now, in the hopes that someone else will make them and be surprised by their spicy, moist homeyness.

As you know, I'm new to the gluten-free world, and as an avid baker I've been casting around for recipes that not only approximate the flavor and toothsome qualities of wheat products, but actually taste good, as well. Too many gluten-free breads and pastries crumble at the slightest touch, taste oddly beany or ricey, are prohibitively expensive, or require eight zillion obscure flours and additives to rise or bond ingredients. Thanks to my friend Abby I've found Annalise Roberts, who has a great gluten-free baking book titled Gluten-Free Baking Classics. Ms. Roberts provided the foundation and inspiration for tonight's banana muffins.

The original recipe is for pumpkin bread, and so the first substitution I made was to use 4 bananas in the place of 1 C of pumpkin puree (I do this switch-up all the time with quick breads: sweet potatoes, yams, bananas, squash, and pumpkin are all interchangeable). The second change I made was to swap 1/3 C + 2 Tb virgin coconut oil for the canola oil that Ms. Roberts calls for. I've been doing a lot of reading on coconut oil lately, and though it is high in saturated fats, not all saturated fats are made equal. Once consumed, the fat in coconut oil quickly converts into energy, and is not stored in the heart or arteries. It's a favorite with serious athletes and dieters. It lowers bad cholesterol, has antimicrobial and antifungal properties, aids in digestion, and helps boost immunity. A surprising number of people use it to treat acne. It also tastes amazing (in the muffins, at least) and feels very good as a facial moisturizer. The third change I made was to substitute cardamom for nutmeg, though to be honest this was a substitution borne of necessity rather than experimental verve. The fourth and final change was to use brown sugar in place of granulated white sugar. I just like the taste better.

Bake and eat these, because they will warm your soul. A word to the wise, though: these are not diet muffins. Just because they lack dairy and wheat, are whole-grain, and use a healthy fat does not mean that they are a health food. Treat them as you would any muffin, and at least eat a big bowl of fruit alongside one at breakfast. One more word: you could probably substitute regular flour for the mix as long as you keep the batter wet-thick and omit the xanthan gum.

Little Chef's Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Yum Muffins (inspired by Annalise Roberts)

1 3/4 C brown rice flour mix (see below)
1 C brown sugar, not packed
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp xanthan gum (Bob's Red Mill makes this and it lasts forever)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp each cinnamon, ground ginger & cardamom or nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
2 large eggs
1/4 C water
1/3 C + 2 tsp coconut or canola oil
2 Tb molasses (I use blackstrap for its health benefits--potassium, magnesium, iron--and very rich flavor, but any molasses will do)
4 mushy bananas

(To make the brown rice flour mix: combine 6 C finely ground brown rice flour, 2 C potato starch--not flour!--and 1 C tapioca flour. Mix in a bag or Tupperware container and store in the pantry for easy access.)

It's just occurring to me now that I may have used only 1 1/4 C flour mix, in which case the muffins still turned out beautifully. They'll be a bit less moist with the proper flour amount, so I suggest adjusting the flour:ingredient ratio to meet your tastes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the dry ingredients (including the sugar) in one bowl. In an second bowl, combine the eggs, water, molasses, bananas and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined. Do not over-mix. Add the batter to muffin tins, filling them up almost to the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean. Let the muffins cool completely (well, you can eat one lukewarm if you like, I did) and store in a Tupperware or wrap well in plastic and tuck in the freezer. Enjoy!