I have been a huge fan of Michael Ruhlman’s book Ratio
According to Ruhlman, “a quick bread is composed of cake batter ingredients that are stirred together.” He goes on to say that “muffins are quick breads baked into cups.” Hence, my decision to make muffins. Ruhlman’s ratio for making a quick bread using wheat flour is 2 parts flour: 2 parts liquid: 1 part egg: 1 part fat.
The ratio I came up with for muffins uses almond flour, and is 4 parts flour: 4 parts egg: 1 part sweetener. After much experimentation, I can say that I doubt these proportions will work with other flours as almond flour is a very unique ingredient.
So why create this recipe at all? Well, it is still versatile in two ways. First, it is a wonderful template for a muffin recipe. You can experiment by adding different flavor combinations including: date walnut, lemon poppyseed, dried cranberries with white chocolate chips, cinnamon raisin, and orange dark chocolate chip. Second, you can scale up the recipe and make as many muffins as you like. Double it for 8 muffins. Cut it in half for 2. It’s that flexible.
The ratio for making a basic, lightly sweetened almond flour muffin is (4:4:1), and here is the complete recipe:
- 4 ounces blanched almond flour (not almond meal) (about 1 cup)
- 4 ounces eggs (about 2 large eggs)
- 1 ounce honey (around 1 tablespoon)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- In a medium bowl, combine almond flour and baking soda
- In a large bowl combine eggs, honey and vinegar
- Stir dry ingredients into wet, mixing until combined
- Scoop about ¼ cup of batter at a time into a paper lined muffin pan
- Bake at 350° for 15 minutes, until slightly browned around the edges
- Cool in the pan for ½ hour
- Serve with butter and jam
To make a loaf of quick bread, simply double the above batter and bake it for 35-40 minutes on the lower rack of your oven in an 6-½ x 4-inch baby loaf pan (Luminarc).
My findings? Because almond flour is more wet than wheat flour, I ended up eliminating the 2 parts of liquid that Ruhlman used in his ratios. And because almond flour is more fatty than wheat flour I have eliminated the fat that was part of his formula. Finally, I used equal parts almond flour and egg in my recipe because almond flour is heavy and requires extra leavening, and eggs are a wonderfully simple form of leavening that is high in protein.
I did not have a hypothesis when I began this experiment. I based my ratio on Ruhlman’s and started out with liquids, fat and all sorts of unnecessary other ingredients (that I found are not relevant when baking with almond flour). In order to come up with the recipe above, I baked the muffins 4 times before the result was remotely edible, and 5 more times to perfect them. As you can see, when it comes to baking, hands on is the only way to go; guessing does not work.
Susan Thatcher says
I just found this recipe but had a question. The recipe calls for 4 oz of flour but the shows “about 1 cup”. Is that correct since a cup is 8 oz? I really want to try it but want to make sure I don’t use too mich flour.
Elana says
Hi Susan, the 8 ounces = 1 cup measurement is for water. Different ingredients have different densities and therefore weigh different amounts, so yes, this measurement (4 ounces = 1 cup almond flour) is correct :-)
Naomi Fuller says
Hi Elana, just found your site the other day and made the Choc. Zuccinni loaf, was beautiful, but I was wondering why you say to use Almond Flour and not Almond Meal. There is only one store near me that has the flour and it is twice the price of the meal.
Elana says
Hi Naomi, thanks for your comment and question. Here’s more info on that:
https://elanaspantry.com/why-almond-flour/
Enjoy!
Elana
Sarah zias says
When i bake almond flour cookies they seem to be crispy after air cooling but after i put them in a plastic container they get soft and gummy. Is there something i can do to prevent this?
Elana says
Sarah, we leave them out on the counter and they stay crispy :-)
Isabel says
i used this recipe as a base for apple cinnamon muffins, and they were DELICIOUS. thanks so much for the recipes elana
Elana says
You’re welcome Isabel!
Anne-Marie says
These are absolutely delicious. We have made them twice and right off the bat, amazingly good. I worked backwards, so to speak. Both times I forgot that I didn’t have a full carton of eggs, so I just measured how many ounces of eggs I had and adjusted the flour to match. Both times it was close enough to the original recipe that I only tweaked the other measurements by making sure it was either just under or heaping. Worked great! Our additions: maple syrup instead of honey (2 tablespoons is one ounce) vanilla and chocolate chips. Otherwise followed the directions as written, used Wellbees almond flour, apple cider vinegar, baking soda. Cooked 17-18 minutes and let sit in the pan for 30 minutes after removing from the oven. Huge hit for my family and friends!
Elana says
Anne-Marie, so glad to hear these were a huge hit for your family and friends!
Jodi says
Elana, I needed something for all the fresh strawberries I had and this recipe was perfect. We had STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!! The muffin was perfect for it because of it’s heartier texture. Thank you.
Elana says
Jodi, that’s great!
Karen says
I made these with 2 tablespoons of almond butter instead of the honey and they turned out phenomenal!
Elana says
Karen, so glad you enjoyed!
Teri Perlstein says
I have been experimenting. I’m not gluten intolerant but wanted a no carb breakfast muffin or similar alternative. I have now perfected the recipe for myself.
I double the recipe add a half a cup of unsweetened applesauce instead of the honey and make it as a loaf and it comes out really moist. I will try the scones next starting with the base recipe. Thank you for all these recipes
Rochelle says
Is it possible to make these without honey or any sweetener? To make it whole 30 approved? Maybe it would turn out more like a biscuit?
Elana says
Hi Rochelle, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know if it works! Here are some recipes for paleo baked goods that do not have any sweetener that may be of interest to you:
https://elanaspantry.com/gluten-free-bread-20/
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-dark-rye-bread/
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-bagels/
Enjoy!
Elana
Holleym says
I doubled recipe and added about 1/4 cup applesauce, some cinnamon and vanilla. Also added generous amount of blueberries. Delish!
MK says
These came out amazing! Slightly dry but perfect when warm and topped w ghee!
I doubled the recipe minus 1 tbsp of honey;
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 oz shredded coconut
1 oz pecans
an extra egg
Cook for approx 20 min
For 12 muffins!
Thank you!
Tammy S says
Yum! I’m going to try this. Thanks for sharing!
Elizabeth Cepeda says
Hi Elana-
Sorry if this is a silly question, but is there a difference between blanched almond and regular (non-blanched) almond flour? I went to the grocery store and bought almond flour and didn’t realize until I got home that it required for blanched almond flour. I’m wondering if this will suffice or if it will turn out different in texture, taste, etc. than expected.
Thank you
Elizabeth
Elana says
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for your comment! Your question is not silly at all! In fact, here’s a full write up I’ve done on almond flour which will provide you with all of the information you need:
https://elanaspantry.com/almond-flour/
Enjoy!
Elana
Mia G says
Hi Elana,
My brother and I made these cupcakes for our school lunch boxes and they were delishus? we even doubled the recipe and they turned out fine. Thanks so much for your recipe we all loved it. From Mia????
Elana says
Mia, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe :-)
Michele T says
Today is a cold, snow day here in Colorado and I felt like a warm treat for breakfast. I made these almond flour muffins for the first time. Followed the recipe exactly but tripled it so I could get a dozen and I also added 1/2 cup Lily’s dark chocolate chips. YUM! Moist and delicious! They turned out perfect! And very easy to make!
Thank you so much, Elana, for providing delicious options for those of us who care about what we put in our bodies! I’ve used many of your recipes and am always pleased! My personal favorites, in addition to these muffins, are the coconut flour tortillas and salt and pepper crackers!
Elana says
You’re welcome Michele! I’m really glad to hear you’re enjoying my recipes!
Monika says
I just made these and although they tasted much better than a coconut flour recipe I made they were D R Y! I mean like lodged in my throat dry and I even added blueberries to moisten the batter. We are not gluten free but I made Almond milk and I needed recipes to use the leftover meal for. I love the simplicity of the recipe, I just want it to be more moist.
Elana says
Hi Monika, I’m sorry to hear the muffins did not turn out correctly for you. Unfortunately this recipe won’t work with almond pulp, it requires almond flour which although seems a bit similar is a very different ingredient. The best results come from using the recommended ingredients as well as the brands that are shown when clicking on the green text in the ingredient portion of the recipe. Thanks for sharing your concern and hope you enjoy the muffins in the future!
Melissa says
Do you have any recipes that use dried almond pulp? I’m always trying to use mine up!
Elana says
Here you go Melissa:
https://elanaspantry.com/almond-pulp-recipes/
Enjoy!
Elana
Patricia says
Elana, Monika’s problem may be the altitude. We live at almost 8000 ft, and every baked good needs adhpjustment. Perhaps if she added a couple of tablespoons or up to a 1/4 cup of applesauce or pumpkin the dryness would be remedied?
Elana says
Hi Patricia, thanks for sharing your experience. I haven’t had to adjust this recipe at higher altitude. We live at 5,000 feet and have a second home at 8,000 feet and we make it often with good success :-)
Videsh says
Hi Monika i also make almond milk and use the pulp for baking. what i do is spread the pulp onto a baking sheet at put it in my toaster oven on the bottom rack and turn on the grill on a very lowest setting to dry out the moisture from the pulp (be sure to stir it a couple times for even drying) then put it in the food processor once cool and process it for a minute or two until its like very fine then that’s it almond flour. to put a little moisture in my muffin i use some butter and it works really well very soft and moist sometimes i put chocolate chips on it for the kids and they love it.
Noel says
Hi there! I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog. You have so many great recipes! Anyway, I’ve been looking for a simple muffin recipe, and this one seems to fit the bill, but unfortunately I’m not able to eat eggs. Do you know of a substitute I can use that would allow these muffins to come out right? I’m not much of a cook or baker, so I usually stick to ingredients. Unfortunately, I’m not able to eat flaxseed right now, either, so the “flax egg” method is out, too.
Kate says
Hi Elana,
I’ve been a long time follower of your blog and this is one of my favorite recipes!
I’ve made these muffins for years and love the texture, taste, and high protein + low sugar combination.
My mom used to make me blueberry muffins for breakfast and I missed them when I gave up wheat.
I double the recipe and add about 3/4 cup of blueberries and it hits the spot every time.
So many blogs have come and go since I started reading them years ago, but yours is always my go-to for recipes.
I know you meticulously test your recipes and I’m guaranteed to get great results.
Thank you so much for all that you do and share.
Best,
Kate C.
West Hartford, CT
Bonnie says
Great muffins! My family loves them. I substituted 1/4 cup puréed frozen blueberries for the honey. It makes them blue though (obviously, lol) and I added 1/8 tsp salt. I’ll definitely be making these again. (I’ve got thyroid issues so I wanted to make them as low in sugar as I could.) Thanks for the recipe.
Linda says
Do you have any suggestions using convection oven? Browned beautiful on outside but inside still raw. New oven and need advice. Thanks! I know this is an older posting but curious if you or any readers have had this concern.
Ren says
Hi Linda,
I haven’t tried this, but I would try lowering the oven temperature to 325 degrees. A light colored muffin pan may also slow down the browning on the outside and give the middle more time to cook.
(I know you posted this a few months ago, but I hope this is helpful to you or others anyway.)
Angela says
Hi Elana, I recently found out am sensitive to gluten, dairy, cane sugar and eggs too so thank you for this recipe! I used chia seeds (2 tblspoons to 6 tblspoons water) as an egg replacement (and it did not look like 4 ounces) with 4 ounces almon flour (1/2 cup) and found there was not enough liquid with the honey + apple cider vinegar. So, I improvised from looking at a few other recipes and added 1/8th cup of olive oil and 1/8 th cup of water … and about 3/4 cups frozen blueberries. They turned out ok altho I think I ended up cooking about 45 minutes and they 4 muffins were nicely browned. So a little nutty from the almond flour and chia seeds and super healthy. Will see what my hubby thinks in the morning. LOL My hubby thinks Ruhlman is the greatest and introduced me to Ratio, so will see if I can get away without the oil and may be add more water (or lemon juice?) next time. Thanks for the super easy and healthy recipe!!.
Angela says
Hi Elena, I love your recipe! I decided to make mini muffins and doubled your recipe and made 18 mini muffins. Here are my modifications if any of your other readers want reduced sugar, no eggs:
1 cup blanched almond flour
4 tablespoons chia seeds + 1/2 cup water (egg replacer, 1 to 3 ratio; need to have it sit for 10 minutes to gel)
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup apple sauce + 1/4 cup water to mix with egg replacement + honey + apple cider vinegar
1 cup blueberries (I tried 1 1/2 cups and they were popping out of the muffins!)
Approx 1 hour of cooking and they turned out yummy and great to freeze a few and keep the others in the fridge if they will last! Thanks again Elena :)
Claudia johnston says
Hi can you leave out the honey and sweeten it with apple puree or orange juice? I can’t have any honey, banana, dates, agave etc. thanks!
leslie morrison says
Hi Elana,
I’m confused because this is so different from the recipe in your almond-flour cookbook, which has 2 cups of flour to 1 egg. This has 1 cup to 4 eggs! I found I had to combine the 2 recipes to get it right, and now I am trying to piece it together. Can you explain the difference between the 2 muffins? I work as a personal chef and love most of your recipes. They work great. This was confusing to me.
Thanks!
Anneke says
what temperture?
Connie says
I used raw almond flour and added a 1/4 cup white/wheat flour they turned out really good
Alexa [fooduzzi.com] says
I just found your blog today – I was thrilled, as I had won your books in a giveaway a couple of years ago :)
This muffin recipe looks like a fantastic base upon which to play. I’m going to try and throw some blueberries into the mix! Thanks for the idea!
Sharon says
I blanched almonds and made almond flour for the first time for this recipe (which was also my first time making this recipe). They turned out pretty good, golden and soft to the touch “as you would expect with a conventional muffin but they were a bit coarse. Could my flour not have been ground smoothly enough?
Kristin says
I LOVE this recipe! I triple the recipe and make a loaf of bread with it. Add a little salt and hemp and caraway seed. Only use 1 tbsp of sweetener. The perfect sandwich bread and for French toast!
Sharon says
How creative of you! I prepared the recipe in two separate batches because I was afraid the ratios wouldn’t work if I doubled it for 8 muffins.
Shannon says
When you tripled the recipe…how long did you let it cook?
Kim says
Love these Almond Flour Muffins.. EASY ! Made them last night with blueberries (fresh, local:-) ) Delish! Thank you Elana.
Maria says
These are delicious! Perfect texture and just the right amount of sweetness. I added raisins and cinnamon and they were a bit hit.
kristen says
These are awesome! I did 1/2 the amount of honey and added blueberries- it’s a hit with the whole fam! Thank you for sharing!
Amanda says
Could I use Grade B maple syrup in the muffins instead of honey? I just used the last of the raw honey this morning and would like to make these for my husband.
Lydiam says
I just wanted to tell you that these muffins are delicious. They have the perfect texture, just like any muffin that it is not gluten nor dairy free. I’m so happy that I found this recipe! My oldest daughter is autistic and we are trying the best we can to stick to a gluten and dairy free diet, but breakfast and snacking are a challenge. These muffins are perfect for that, we have already made them with dark chocolate chunks, adding a bit more sugar to sweeten them up for dessert…they come out perfect every time. Thank you sooooo much!
Hellabella01 says
These were very easy to make and very tasty!
I added blueberries and inceased the oven temp to 375 (190 here in the UK) as per a suggestion above and they rose and coloured beautifully.
My sons loved them, thank you for the recipie.
Sharon says
Thank you for your comment on the higher temperature. Did you leave them in for the same amount of time?
Lonnda Paige says
just make them, added blueberries and raspberries. Hoping they are yummy!
Lonnda Paige says
*made
Shan Brown says
just made the almond flour muffins first attempts is brilliant. Thank you
Unimio says
Great recipe. Really enjoyed them. Thanks so much for sharing.
Vanessa says
Good Morning,
I am in South Africa and battle to get certain ingredients. This recipe calls for blanched Almond flour can I use plain Almond flour. Also can I put cheese in this recipe as I am trying to make scones and cannot find a good recipe.
Regards
Vanessa
Sharon says
Blanched just means without the skin. I believe packaged almond flour it is blanched (w/out skins). I bought a huge bag of raw organic almonds online and had to blanch them before making the flour: Bring small pot of water to boiling, add almonds, then after no more than 60 seconds remove into a strainer. Skins come off easily. Let almonds cool and dry before grinding them into flour.
Karyn says
I love this basic recipe!
Variations I have made and liked:
1) Blueberry – add 1/8 tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla extract or zest from lemon, and 1/2 cup frozen wild (organic) blueberries
2) Apple spice – in the oven now:) – Double recipe for 9 muffins
Add 1 TBSP cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp vanilla extract, pinch of salt, 1/2 diced apple. YUM!
Thanks Elana!!
Bethanie says
I am not a very skilled cook but I love this recipe for making bread & because it always comes out so good I hate to refrigerate it. Considering it has no preservatives how long can I leave this out & what is the best thing to wrap it in?
Any suggestions would be very welcomed!
Bethanie
Nora says
I’m wanting to make “burger buns ” made with almond flour! I made the biscuits from your cook book “the Gluten-Free Almond Flour cookbook “. They were delicious, but a little too sweet for a bun. How much would I need to decrease the agave nectar or just omit it? Just want a gluten-free “burger bun “. I may have just answered my own question, but love to get your input. Thanks
Emily Card says
Wow, I just made these. I doubled the recipe and made a few blueberry, a few raspberry and a few chocolate chip. They are lightly sweet and my 2 and 6 year old loved them as well. Thanks so much for your amazing recipes!
Stephanie says
What can I use instead of the apple cider vinegar because I don’t have it on hand?
Christine says
Elana, thank you for this wonderful muffin recipe! I made it with about a tsp of vanilla extract and about 6 oz of Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate premium baking chips. I think this is the best paleo recipe I have used so far! I have your new cookbook and have only tried the paleo bread and banana bread (which is cooling now!) Looking forward to trying many more and appreciate your efforts to create delicious, healthy recipes.
Dulcie Hamilton says
Thank you for taking the guess work out to do with almondeal.
Toni says
I’m back to say I was wrong. I used un-blanched almond flour to make these muffins the first time, and used blanched flour to make them again today.
B I G
I M P R O V E M E N T
Form here on in, I’m following the directions ????.
Jamie Coti says
Thanks you for this excellent recipe. I made mini muffins and made the last 3 with a few chocolate chips for our weekend treat. It felt so indulgent to eat these!
Mac says
I love these, thank you.
My version includes a nice healthy teaspoon of cinnamon and a bug tablespoon of unsweetened apple sauce. As well I use coconut sugar. But none the less the ratio works.
Sharon says
What a good idea to add unsweetened apple sauce! That would have given mine more moisture and softness! Next time! Thanks!
Toni says
D E L I C I O U S – weighed everything, added 1/2 teaspoon salt, and added 1/2 teaspoon each of both vanilla and almond extracts, along with frozen blueberries and sliced almonds. I also used natural (un-blanched) almond flour – no problem – baked beautifully. Incredibly good. Thanks for sharing the great recipe.
Evelyn says
I just baked these… I doubled the recipe and made 6 big muffins instead. I just added 5 extra minutes to the baking time and they came out delicious! I loved them!
Lawrey says
We love these and have made them 3 times. They always work and lend themselves to varying flavours…berries, apple and sultana or just plain vanilla. Yum…thanks!
Mary says
I’m not sure if this has been said yet, but I just wanted to report that I made this recipe with almond meal (not blanched) just because it’s what I had on hand and still turned out PERFECTLY! I added some walnuts and cinnamon, maybe the best muffin recipe I’ve ever made! Thank you, Elana!
Sue Robinson says
First time to this site. I tried the Almond Flour Muffins. The batter was so thick I couldn’t transfer it to the muffin tins so I added another egg to make it like a thick paste. Resulting muffins were dense and not sweet enough. I consider this effort a failure.
Cedar says
I just modified this delicious recipe a bit and made blueberry bread. So good!
Here is a look at the modifications I made and how it turned out:
https://lessandmorewithfour.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/paleo-blueberry-bread/
Lupe Marsden says
I love this recipe! So far I’ve made it twice. I substituted almond meal and added almost a cup of frozen organic blueberries…amazing. But tonight I made them even better – I added 3 very ripe bananas and a splash of cinnamon. They had to cook a little longer but they are so moist and delicious!!!
kate says
I didnt have any apple cider vinegar and so I left it out and my muffins all sank. Is this why? So bummed. ur recipe looks so good. will try again.
I would appreciate your input!
Anouschka says
I really like these muffins, so yummy. However when I try the recipe it makes only six not 12 muffins. I wonder if I did something wrong, I know I measured everything right.
Randomcreativity says
These are amazing! I divided the batter into 6 muffins, and they rose beautifully! My 2 eggs weighed just under 4 oz, so I added a tiny bit of applesauce to make up the difference.
I love having another option for breakfast on the weekend – thank you so much for sharing such a versatile base recipe! :-)
Barbara Sinclair says
Hi Elana: Your recipes in your Almond Flour cookbook are so good! I also found some on your website that I liked better, though. The biscuits are wonderful! Instead of making only 4 at 1 1/2 inches thick, I rolled the dough to 3/4 inch thick and made about 8 biscuits which made about 5 days serving. My husband loves this with peach jam!
I especially enjoyed the vegan peanut butter cookies, but instead of using smooth peanut butter, I used nutty peanut butter and it made the cookies crunchier!!! I discovered that the cookies need to cool on the parchment paper before removing them to the cooling sheet. I removed one while hot and it crumbled!
Tonight I made muffins following the date pecan muffin recipe. I made some changes on that…I omitted ground nutmeg because my husband is allergic to spices; instead of using grapeseed oil, I used light olive oil because it has higher monounsaturated fat than the grape seed; I used canned apples packed in water and estimated about half of the can was equivalent to 2 apples; and since I didn’t have any pecans, I used walnuts. It was so good, but I think 1 tablespoon of vanilla is a bit too much. I would use half of that the next time I make this.
Is there any way I can make blueberry muffins without bananas? Eating anything with bananas turns into sugar and makes my blood sugar go down.
Thank you for the wonderful recipes made with almond flour!! I made some biscuits and blueberry muffins with gluten free flours (rice, potato, tapioca flours) and they were too gritty and I didn’t like those too much. Using almond flour is wonderful!
I would appreciate hearing from you about the blueberry muffins!
Lupe Marsden says
Barbara, I made this recipe and other than using almond meal instead of flour I just added blueberries. They came out great!
katie says
i love this recipe! could you please tell me what could replace the eggs to make this vegan? thanks!!!
Nina Schumann says
I just made this recipe, my 1s gluten free recipe ever! I did not have cider vinegar so I used rice vinegar. The muffins came out surprisingly well, nice texture, somewhat bland flavor, but I put a little honey on one and it was so nice to have a fresh baked muffin! I used paper muffin tin liners and the muffin stuck to the paper . . . I might grease the bottom of the paper next time. I think I will experiment adding some chopped cranberries or raisins next time . . . . will let you know how they turn out.
Sue says
I tried out this recipe this morning and loved them! I added dried cranberries and some chocolate chips.. It was great with the raspberry jam I had but I also had one as a snack without it and they were equally tasty. I am a new fan Elena! I like that it makes a smaller quantity as well. And it was quick and easy to make this morning before heading off to work!
Nashia says
We are new to Paleo and everyone in the house raved about these! I had them with butter and warm apple butter, PERFECT! Thank you so much for making the recipe only 4 muffins as I could eat a hundred of them!
Victoria says
Thank you so much, I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and am on a low starch diet to help manage it, so these lovely muffins help me a lot, great recipe!
Lisa says
Oh these are perfect. Perfect and simple and good.
Leslie says
This is my go-to recipe for a quick snack. I just love them with some grass fed butter and preserves! My trick to getting them baked perfectly every time? I use Wilton square silicone baking cups on a (small) cookie sheet in my toaster oven! The rise is amazing – even better than the muffins I used to make with whole wheat!
Victoria says
Excellent!
Sara says
I made these tonight and they were awful. I used my own homemade almond flour and it just didn’t cut it for me. Maybe by adding homemade apple sauce or homemade yogurt, then they will moisten up a bit. But these were way too dry. The ducks liked them, though!
Jenny Shain says
Hi! Thanks for posting this.
Is it 4 oz or 1 C of flour?
annie says
thank you so much for this wonderful blog.
I like xylitol as a sweetener better than agave syrup.. and I see agave syrup listed in many of your recipes. What might you suggest as fair substitution?
tonight I took half a cup of water and 1/4 cup xylitol and simmered it down to a reduction and used a tablespoon of that for the above recipe. the reduction was not as thick as agave syrup…. but the recipe came together fairly well, the muffins did rise.
Wendy says
These came out great! I made 6 muffins (to fit in my toaster oven). When my 3 eggs measured 5.25 oz, I added SCD yogurt to get to 6 oz, and everything else was per the recipe. What a lovely, flexible recipe!!
Wendy says
Oh, wait- I used honey instead of agave, but I always do that with no trouble, so I didn’t think to mention it.
Dana says
Tried these adding a sprinkle of sea salt, a splash of vanilla and a cup of fresh blueberries….AMAZING! Thank you.
Sara says
We loved these and gobbled them up, but they started me hankering for donuts. How about an adventure down donut lane?
Sarah says
I turned this recipe into blueberry muffins, and they were so good! My wheat-eating husband couldn’t even tell that they weren’t regular muffins. I doubled the recipe, used raw honey instead of agave, added 1/4 t sea salt, added 1 t vanilla extract, omitted the vinegar and added the juice and zest of one lemon. After mixing the wet and dry ingredients, I folded in 1 cup of frozen blueberries. It made 10 muffins and I did have to bake them longer (20 min at 350 and then I turned the oven down to 325 for another 5 minutes). I loved that there was no extra fat in the recipe as I find many of the almond or coconut flour muffins with added oil or butter to be too greasy. These didn’t stick to the wrappers, they were moist, but they weren’t the least bit greasy. I plan to make these again and again!
Susan Chan says
Thank you for these awesome recipes. I have been searching for recipes which are non dairy sources of calcium, and this site is just awesome. My first attempt at eating these muffins I found them a little dry, so I had to make a large cup of coffee or chocolate almond milk. But I could not tell the difference between regular muffins and these. I added walnuts and frozen blueberries which are available year round. I control how much sugar I ingest by putting just a dollop of honey on top of each muffin. Heavenly!
Iestyn Lloyd says
This recipe is amazing. I can’t believe there’s no flour involved.
I made an adaption of this recipe with rhubarb, it’s a bit long to post it here so here’s the link to it http://is.gd/jOligU
Thanks Elana
minnie says
I checked out your recipe but I think you forgot to list the flour. I couldn’t post on your site without registering so I hope you will see this here.
jayd says
Hi. I would like to know if Ms. Elana ever replies to her readers comments? I had a few questions but never received a reply.
Dave says
Hi,
What is the purpose of the vinegar?
Megan says
These are delicious! I tried other almond flour muffins but none had the right consistency.
Wondering if you had nutrion details on these – i.e. carbs, calories, etc. I am trying track all of my calories and intake in a food journal.
Thanks,
Megan
Jess says
I just made these with cranberries and followed your instructions exactly (rare for me…) and they turned out amazing. I’ll be stuck at a hotel for the next 5 days for a curly hair event and the menu is not gluten free friendly. I made these to bring along to have a healthy emergency snack. The texture is great and I love that there’s only 1T of sweetener in them. Thank you so much, this will be my new go-to muffin recipe. – Jess
Jeanette says
I’d like to know what is meant by “ounces” here – this may have caused problems for others who posted that these didn’t turn out:
4 oz of almond flour – is this weighed? I assumed so because the recipe says about a cup.
1 oz agave nectar – I assume this is fluid ounces, and not weighed, since it’s a liquid.
4 oz of eggs – are the eggs also fluid ounces?
This is one of the many problems with the old Imperial measuring system, that ounces can mean a weight or a size!
Madhavi says
Just baked these and mine were also raw in the middle :(
Janice says
this recipe does not seem to work. I followed it exactly. They need salt, they taste flat. They are also raw in the middle. any suggestion of what I could have done wrong? I think this recipe either needs to be modified or needs more instruction. Sorry Elana.
Janice says
I just make these, they did not work at all. What did I do wrong?They taste like they need salt. They are raw in the middle…I followed recipe exactly. Sorry but I think this recipe needs to be modified.
J. Bodrug says
These muffins are delicious. I added chopped frozen cranberries and pecans. Mmmmmm.
Jess says
Made these tonight. Due to some of the comments I decided to add some cinnamon, salt and chopped green apple. They came out good -a bit dense but just how I like them. Next time I’ll add a bit more spice. Excellent!
Wendy Ramsamy says
I just made these muffins. I ground the almonds and tried it. It is amazing. I have been doing gluten free for more than a year now and did not know that you could use just simple almonds to bake. Gluten free flours are dense and tend to flop sometimes. This turned out great. Thank you. I am glad I found your site.
My dream is to have a small shop, filled with yummy gluten and diary free goodies.
Thanks You again
Wendy
Jodi says
I doubled this recipe and added a container of organic pumpkin baby food and about 1/4 cup of chia seeds… it was WONDERFUL!!! Great muffins… the kids loved them and super healthy :)
THANKS Elana for sharing this site… one of our very favs :)
Nikita says
Hi Elana! I wanted to let you know that I made these, with a few variations, and they were so delicious! I posted my modified recipe on my own blog, but of course I gave you credit for creating the template! Also, my husband pronounced them the best muffins he has ever tasted- and neither of us are strictly gluten-free!
Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Wendy Bussell says
Elana,
Thank you for joining the ratio rally. It is one area I am not really good in, math. I can do cooking fractions and thats about it! Anyway, I just thought I would let you know that I have tripled this recipe, added a splash extra of vanilla and baked it in a regular size loaf pan. It consistantly turns out a beautiful loaf of Victoria Sponge Cake worthy of any British tea table! Absolutly divine with butter and raspberry jam. I also make this leaving out most of the vanilla and call it our daily bread. It stores well in the fridge. It keeps a soft texture after many days, and the taste is great with everything.
Thanks again!
Karen says
These are the best nut flour muffins I have tried, and I just baked them for the second time. They are so like regular flour muffins! Moist but not greasy like other low carb muffin recipes. I added 4 oz. chopped apple and 1/2t cinnamon and used 2T granulated ZSweet (erythritol/stevia) instead of agave. They are fabulous. Any recipe I have tried of yours turns out perfectly- very like their flour/sugar counterparts. (My husband loves the almond joy “snack cake” and another site had your almond butter olive bread, which was divine!!) Thanks so much!
Ann says
Thank you for a simple NON SUGAR baked item. They turned out great 1st time!
yuki says
Hello I tried this recipe over the weekend (thank you for posting it). For me this turned out very dry and I had to drink something just to swallow each bite – but other than that it was very nice. Is there anything that one could add to make it substantially more moist? I did bake it for exactly 15 min until the top/sides were very slightly browned. Thank you!!
Tiffany says
Hi!
I’m new to the gluten-free diet. My roommate was recently semi-diagnosed with IBS/Crohn’s and we have him on the Specific Carb Diet. Since Gluten-free is more known, It’s easier to find those recipes. And since some of the recipes can be used in the Specific Carb Diet, I took a look at yours =) -Of course, I’m learning what to tweak if needed for the difference between the two.
Last night I attempted to make these muffins. I never weigh ingredients, but noticed that it says 4 oz of the nut flour is about 1 cup. I measured out 1 cup and then 2 eggs. Before mixing the 2, I saw that it looked like it would be too eggy and it wouldn’t be equal parts. I then poured the 1 cup of nut flour into another measuring cup and it equals out to 8 oz. So I cut it down to 1/2 cup nut flour. I added some vanilla extract & fresh fruit to the muffins & baked them and they came out really good.
Just checking if the 4 oz. of nut flour should be 1/2 cup or actually 1 cup?
Thanks!
elana says
Tiffany,
Thanks for your comment. This recipe is made for using a scale for the exact reasons you state above!
Enjoy,
Elana
tatil says
Thanks for sharing and informations. looks nice ;)
The Healthy Apple says
So glad to be a part of this Rally with you. I love this recipe…pure n’ simple. Just the way I like it. Thanks Elana; have a great weekend and keep up the amazing gluten-free work.
Erin says
Hmm…I definitely thought these needed some salt because they were pretty dense and bland. The denseness makes sense because of the almond flour, but it didn’t necessarily make it a tasty muffin. I added some jam, and that was better, but I can’t say I was in love with them. I could add some more stuff to them (nuts, cranberries, etc.) but I’m not sure I’m in love enough with the original recipe to deviate from it. :-(
Maegan says
Made these the other morning and my 2 yr old loved them with a bit of blackberry jam. Next time, I’m trying my muffins with some local honey. Thanks Elana.
Robyn says
Looks so simple and yet so delicious! Great post!
melanie @ http://mindfulfood.blogspot.com says
Hi Elana,
I heard about you a few months ago on the Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen site when they were giving away a copy of your cookbook. I didn’t win, so I had to buy it and have been loving it ever since. (ordered 5 lbs of almond flour from Honeyville) I also made a almond flour muffins for the ratio rally – taking inspiration from you and elsewhere.
http://mindfulfood.blogspot.com/2011/04/almond-joy-gluten-free-muffins-vegan_06.html
Almond flour is a miracle food in my book – so easy to use and delicious!
thanks for blazing the trail!
divalou says
Hi Elana;
Love your site & your recipes always make me salivate! A quick question about making your own almond milk, as it so expensive in stores, can you re-use the ground almonds after for baking with?
I know this is a bit of a random comment for this recipe!
Thanks
Louise
Scott Belanger says
Hi Elana,
Do think it will work if I triple all ingred for the almond muffins to yield 12?
Sincerely,
Scott Belanger
Jodi says
I doubled the recipe, added a container of organic pumpkin baby food and about 1/4 cup of chia seeds and it produced 12 AMAZING muffins… my family wishes it made 24 muffins :) They were gone in no time :)
Mitra says
can you just double the recipe like that? meaning you can put 2X of everything?
Angie Halten says
The best part about this recipe is that it only has 5 ingredients. I like to have some recipes that are quick and simple on hand like this one. Great idea for breakfast!
Lucy says
hiya- I wonder if anyone can answer a couple of my questions – there are a couple of things about ingredients and ratios that are really puzzling me…
when I first started making the bread mix (from your simple bread recipe) the batter was really runny – and I was able to pour it into the loaf tin…now when I make it, it’s so sticky, I can hardly get it off the spoon! What would the difference be in the ingredients or ratios that I’m using? I can’t remember if maybe I used to add oil? What would that do to a recipe? or maybe I used more eggs? I just can’t remember (now I’m using 2.5cups of almond flour, 3 eggs etc). Any ideas would be much appreciated!
the other thing is, I make almond flour muffins – following a couple of recipes from your book (which I love!) – but I use 2.5 cups of almond flour – and 3 eggs? And they always come out really nicely – what would the difference be if I used 1 cup and 2 eggs as in your recipe here (or 2 cups and 4 eggs), which means there’s a lot more eggs per almond flour!
I’m new to baking and would love some advice!
PS. YOur site has kept me going during a very low point in my health with colitis, so thank you very much x
Giuliana says
Elana,
I just wanted to THANK YOU for this site and all your testing. I can’t eat gluten anymore, and I also eat low-carb as I am pre diabetic. Your site has been a total Godsend to me, and I thank you!
Looking forward to trying this recepie later this week!
Calla says
I made the muffins yesterday and I added pistachios and some dark choc chips and I have to say they were amazing and I also made the vegan chocolate frosting for the first time and it is the closest thing I have come to tasting like real frosting…Thank you Elana
shauna says
Fantastic! I’m so happy you have joined in on this. And I love that you gave a different ratio for almond flour. It’s quite different, isn’t it? I want some of your muffins.
Kilee says
I love the concept or starting a recipe with a ratio. With gluten-free baking, I always try to first tweak someone else’s recipe, but this ratio idea is intriguing. I’ll see what I can come up with. Thank you for posting this :)
carrie @ gingerlemongirl.com says
lovely Elana! A perfect low glycemic take on muffins! I might have to whip up a batch of these this evening!
Jenn says
Ooooh they look wonderful Elana!
katy says
This is what I’ve been wanting, expect no wanting to waste my almond flour to experiment! :)thank you Elana! Have you ever tried using yogurt combined with baking soda to help the rise.
Lisa @ GF Canteen says
Interesting. I made several batches, too, using different ratios, and came out with some wonderful door stops, dog treats, and odd looking muffins. I did end up with a similar MR ratio, but because I counted the yogurt/sour cream, mashed banana and egg white as liquid. Loved reading about your process – I love the rise on your muffins – nice!
Stacy says
Vegan -Gluten Free muffin basics:
I’ve struggled to come up with a Vegan GF muffin that is tasty… using a variation on yours (almond flour) and others I found this is pretty darn tasty…very moist
2 1/2 C JK Almond flour (it is the finest ground of them all- good for muffins – although I like Honeywell for cookies)
1/2 C arrowroot powder
1sp baking soda
1/2 C brown rice syrup (use agave if you prefer – sweeter though)
1 1/2 C applesauce
1 egg replacer – I use enerG and make sure you add it last – needs to go in oven right away.
1 C of your favorite add-in (choc chips, chopped fruit, berries – just be careful you are adding too much moisture – eg:blueberries are juicy so maybe only add 1/2-3/4 cup or lessen applesauce a little).
Cooking these in muffin papers works better – spoon cups full – bake 350 for 30-40 min. They brown nicely.
Double Chocolate Strawberry was our favorite so far – added 1/4 cocoa powder, chopped strawberries and chocolate chips. MMmmmm.
Caneel says
These remind me of little cakes my grandmother used to make. Thanks for sharing this – I can’t wait to try the recipe!
Janice Cook says
Love this! Math + food = GREAT!!
Jen says
Hi Elena – first of all I love your book and site. We had the shrimp fritters for dinner and they are outstanding!!
So I made these muffins after soaking, dehydrating and grinding my own almonds (digestion issues galore) and I did add some sunbutter for a thicker consistency. And…the insides turned bright green!!! Has this ever happened to you? A reaction with the ACV and soda? I’m so curious and bummed to toss them if need be. Hoping you have an answer for me! Thanks so much…Jen
Emily says
It’s safe to eat. Chlorogenic acid (from the sunflower seeds)in sunbutter causes it to turn green when baked, don’t worry :D
Sara says
I was just looking into buying a scale. Is there a scale you recommend? Is it better to go digital or the old fashioned kind? I feel like I’m coming across more and more recipes written in grams and ounces rather than cups- any thoughts why this may be?
Judith says
I got OXO’s digital scale with the pull out display (great feature for large items on the scale) for about $50.00 at Bed Bath and Beyond, plus 20% off with a coupon. I love it. It converts easily for pounds to grams and tares very easily.
This scale is recommended by America’s Test Kitchen.
Emily says
Could the 2:2:1:1 ratio be used when baking with coconut flour?
I’m itching to create my own flavor profiles on recipes for cupcakes/breads but am not sure what to use as the springboard
Claire says
Those are beautiful muffins Elana! Thanks for posting these!
Alta says
Love that you did all of this testing for us! I own Ratio and love it, but haven’t really put it into practice, because as we all know, gluten-free flour does not act like wheat flour…and one gluten-free flour does not necessarily act like another. But I love using almond flour and love that this ratio is now here! Now, what type of muffins will I make? :)
brandi says
I just recently (last week) found out that I’m gluten intolerant, so I think that book would be really helpful in creating new recipes.
Beth says
I’m not a numbers person myself, and have never really gotten the hang of weighing ingredients.
Sounds like an intriguing concept though.
Lisa Daniel says
Your site is just indispensable to me and this post is just great!!!!!!!!!
Deb says
Elana,
These muffins look amazing. Also being a math person, I love the ratio approach. This is actually how I learned to cook quick breads back when my mother taught me at age 7 or 8. I suspect she was teaching me fractions as well. Love it. Can’t wait to taste them. Thanks. Deb
The Teenie Foodie says
MMM these look yummy! I will defintely try these because they don’t look to sweet and and Id love to add some berries in there. Fabulous recipe!
Teenie Foodie
Jennifer says
LOVE baking by weight! Thank you.
Danielle says
Yippee!! I’m so glad to see measurements by weight. I prefer to cook with my scale. Thank you!
Sharon says
I just ordered a Procizion Digital Kitchen Food Scale from Amazon! On my first try with this recipe I used Elana’s “about a cup, about a 1/4 tsp, etc” and they turned out well but now I’ll be able to actually weigh the ingredients and get it exactly right.
Shirley @ gfe says
Lovely simple recipe, Elana! Great to now this ratio can be used for all kinds of muffins made with almond flour. :-) Love Ruhlman and you! Both of you are very passionate, talented folks inside and outside the kitchen. ;-)
xo,
Shirley
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Simple recipe! This reiterates how important having ratio in our life. Especially in baking :)
Stacey says
HI Elana,
These muffins remind me of your Irish Soda Bread Recipe minus the raisins. I left a question under that recipe because my Irish Soda Bread did not look like yours…it tasted great, though! Mine was bumpy, but yours looked smooth. Did you mix the ingredients by hand or with a mixer? I did not receive an answer so I thought I would post here. Not sure what the correct procedure is. Also, I couldn’t put an x in it because the dough was so sticky. Any helpful hints? I love the recipe and look forward to trying your muffins also!
elana says
Stacey,
I answered your comment over on the Irish Soda Bread post.
http://www.elanaspantry.com/irish-soda-bread/#comment-39908
Thanks,
Elana
Cassi Friz says
oooh- i’ve been playing with quick-breads this week too. and something like ratios!
must play with muffins. we’ve settled on soured brown rice flatbreads in a cast iron skillet, and sprouted quinoa in a similar form (quinoa doesn’t like to sour)- the only way we eat any grains is after souring them for 24-48 hours. It makes a totally different batter and final product than regular grains.
also playing with coconut and almond flour b/c this site is so amazing and we love the paleo foods!
must make coconut cake soon!
Annie26 says
Hi there, i was wondering how do you sour grains? I eat lots of cultured veggies and drink cultured juices, would love to sour grains as well.
Blessings,
Annie
Tammy L. says
I could not resist replying to this, even though it is an older post. But isn’t soured grains called hard alcohol? Sorry. I told you I could not resist. lol
Chris at Lost Arts Kitchen says
Oh, this is SO awesome, Elana! I read Ratio just before going gluten-free. Loved it, but had no notion of how to use the concept with my new dietary restrictions. Thank you so much for figuring this out!