Gluten Free Zucchini Carrot Muffins

Yes, Gluten-Free people, there is a delicious and nutritious breakfast/coffee break/snack muffin for us! (insert cheering here). 🙂 These muffins have a wonderful flavour & texture, and contain a number of good things like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seed, raisins, zucchini and carrots. Yes, it’s a long ingredient list today, but it’ll be totally worth it, trust me! This recipe yields 24 muffins, so bake them and freeze them, taking them out when you need them. All of the nuts add great texture, and the raisins add a nice sweetness. You won’t be disappointed with these, so go ahead and shred up that zucchini that your neighbor gave you and you had no idea what to do with it.

[print_this]

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/2 cup millet flour (or quinoa)
• 1/2 cup flax seed
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp xanthan gum (or guar guar)
• 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 pinch ginger
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 apple, grated
• 1 cup yogurt or buttermilk
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups zucchini, shredded and squeezed
• 2 cups carrots, shredded
• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

1. Lightly grease 24 muffin cups.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, salt, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum and spices.
3. Grind the quinoa (if using), flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and almonds in a coffee grinder until they are very fine. Add to the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, oil, yogurt, sugar, honey and vanilla.
5. Mix the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.
6. Fold in the zucchini, carrots, apple and raisins.
7. Scoop into the prepared muffin cups and let stand for 30 minutes while preheating oven to 375 degrees F.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Cool 10 minutes in the muffin tins before transferring to wire racks.

Optional Topping:

• 2 Tbsp margarine
• 2 Tbsp brown rice flour
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients, until it has a crumb appearance. Top all the muffins with this mixture BEFORE baking. Bake as directed above.

[/print_this]