Allergy Friendly Muffins

Well, we found out one of the kids has an egg allergy (and a laundry list of others... oy). While frustrating to now have 1 dairy free, 1 egg free, and a Celiac in the house, I am relieved that we know what to avoid in our diets. This morning I was scrambling to find something I could make to cover all the bases of this triple whammy. I discovered this recipe from Buddy's Allergen Free and thought I would give it a try. We got 3 yays and 1 nay on this recipe. I had to try it! They looked so good.

A few notes, I did not change this recipe from the original with the exception of making a half recipe and making both strawberry & blueberry muffins. I have a little process when trying new recipes. I make it the first time true to the creator. The second time I make tweaks depending on our taste and allergy preferences. Of course, the only exception is that everything is gluten free from first try due to Celiac.

How did they turn out? They were so delicious! I couldn't tell that there wasn't any egg. Also, the muffin itself had a great flavor and wasn't at all bland. I find that in other recipes the muffin is bland but the mix ins "save" the muffin. Not the case here. I will be making these again but with dairy free chocolate chips to see if we can change that Nay to a YAY! Ok, enough of this chatty business, let's get to the muffins.

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Allergy Friendly Muffin Base

cook|prep time: 45 minutes

servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1)

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• Optional: 1 Tbsp lemon or orange rind; OR 1 tsp cinnamon (I used both lemon rind and cinnamon)

Wet ingredients

• 1/3 cup oil (I used coconut oil)

• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (or vinegar)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 Tbsp honey or maple syrup (I used local honey - it's allergy season & we are struggling)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 cup of a "mix-in" of your choice (we did half blueberry, half strawberry - you could also do plain, apple|cinnamon, chocolate chip, banana, endless options here)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Line a 12 muffin tin with liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray

3. In a large bowl, combine all wet ingredients

4. In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients

5. Pour wet ingredients slowly into the dry ingredients, stir until just combined

6. Gently fold in your "mix-ins" or if making multiple types - put "mix-ins" into each muffin liner

7. Pour batter evenly into 12 muffin cups - for "mix-inx" already in the muffin tin, gently fold together at this point

8. Bake for 23 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit in pan for 5 minutes before removing. Serve warm from the oven.

Note: Store leftovers in an airtight ziplock bag or container.

I realized after gathering all my ingredients that I could not use the avocado oil because of allergies here so I swapped for the coconut last minute. I also realized, after they were already in the oven, that due to allergies I should have also omitted the lemon (and opted for vinegar) AND the honey!! Thank goodness those allergies are only mild ones.

Relearning to cook and bake is always a challenge. Even for those who feel seasoned, like I do with gluten free and dairy cooking. Taking on this new challenge began to feel overwhelming this morning. But I'm not giving up. I will keep trying. If you're struggling with cooking for allergies or for your own dietary reasons, you can do this!! Keep trying!!