Grain-Free Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins
The peanut butter & jelly sandwich just got a bit sexier...and by sexier I mean healthier in a #foodasmedicine kinda way;)
Very minimal ingredients and so moist and delicious. I’ve brought these to work with me already on several occasions, brought them out for the kids on errands, and find they also make the perfect afternoon snack.
The flour
I’ve tested this recipe using my favorite paleo flour as well as a combination of coconut flour and gluten-free oat flour. Both turned out great so feel free to use whichever you have on hand. Paleo flour (combination of almond, coconut, arrowroot, and tapioca) can be expensive but I find it saves so much time not having to combine flours all the time and it’s completely gluten and grain free.
Nut butters
Use any natural peanut butter for this recipe with peanuts and sea salt as the ingredients. I’ve tried to make it school- friendly by using sunbutter but it makes the muffins turn green! Yep there’s a synergistic effect of baking soda and the sunflower seeds that cause this. At first I thought they went bad straight out of the oven. It’s totally harmless but figured just stick with the regular peanut butter. It truly makes it tastes like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, only better. I like brands that come in a glass bottles and contains no added sugar like Teddies, Naturally Nutty, or Maranatha.
The jelly
You can certainly use store-bought jelly (no high fructose corn syrup or other additives). I’ve seen some good ones at Farmers markets, but they still contain a lot of added cane sugar. Choose wisely and use in small amounts only.
The thickener
I use arrowroot powder to thicken most of my recipes since I’m not the biggest fan of corn starch. Corn products in general are often genetically modified and can cause gut inflammation and digestive distress. Arrowroot comes from a South American plant called the Maranta arudinacea, The root is cut up and mashed into a pulp.
Why we say no to Genetically Modified Foods
According to the Non GMO project literature, a GMO, (genetically modified organism) is defined as a plant, animal, or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology. “This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacterial, and virus genes that do not occur in nature.” The number of GMO products on the market grows every year and the Non-GMO Project works to provide the most accurate, up-to-date standards for non-GMO verification.
When I researched studies on GMO crops I was a little surprised (though not all that shocked) that most of the studies stating that GMO versions of crops were “just as safe as non-GMO” were all conducted by the biotech companies responsible for manufacturing the products. This makes my eyes squint just a bit.
I think of it this way...Here comes tomatoes from Mexico in January. We need them to survive cold weather so our product doesn’t get wasted so why not splice some genes of a fish into them so they can withstand the harsh conditions? Hmmmm….are there any health consequences that might occur from this?
There is also a connection between GMO crops and harsh pesticides (roundup ready crops) which we now know are hazardous to our health. But just like with cigarettes, we’re going to keep these frankenfoods and toxic chemicals on the shelves while there is still money to be made on them. So until this stuff is banned, it’s really up to us to be detectives in the grocery stores and out at restaurants (especially if you dine out often) and go organic (and non GMO project verified) for products like corn, soy, canola, sugar and wheat (which we honestly shouldn’t be eating much of anyway)
The good news here is that more and more products are coming out each year that do not contain GMO ingredients. The two labels to look for would be the USDA organic label and the GMO project verified label.
The sweetener
For both the jelly and the muffin batter, I used this ridiculously delicious Crown Maple Syrup which I accidentally stumbled upon in the grocery store one day. My first choice for syrups is always the less processed grade B though lately it’s been pretty difficult to find since grade B almost sounds like it’s a grade at school when in fact it’s more desirable! Looks like the marketing team caught wind of this and are now using the words, Dark Amber to describe their syrups. I’ll take it!
Grain-Free Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins
Step #1 Make the jelly
The Jelly
1 cup frozen organic raspberries
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp dark amber maple syrup or Crown Maple syrup
2 tsp Arrowroot powder
In small saucepan heat the first 5 ingredients until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a slow simmer. Mix the arrowroot with 2-3 tsp water until dissolved and transfer to saucepan with the other ingredients. Stir until well combined and continue to heat until mixture reduces by ½ to ⅓.. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Step 2: Prepare the muffin mixture
2 cups paleo flour (or 1 cup gluten-free oat flour and 1 cup coconut flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
½ tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/2 cup dark amber maple syrup or Crown Maple syrup
1/4 cup milk of choice (I’ve used everything from organic cream to almond milk. all delicious)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large muffin tin with 12 liners. I LOVE these silicone baking liners
Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In large bowl or stand up mixer, combine the peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla, eggs, maple syrup and milk of choice until well blended. Fold in dry ingredients until just combined.
Spoon about 1 heaping Tbsp into muffin cups sprayed with coconut oil or avocado oil cooking spray (or use these silicone sliders which make life so easy). Fill each with 1-2 tsp of the cooled jelly mixture then continue filling with batter until they’re just about filled to the top.
Bake 20 minutes or until browned on top. Allow muffins to sit 15-20 minutes to cool before eating.
If you like grain-free goodies, you may also want to check out these healthy recipes!
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https://www.nongmoproject.org/gmo-facts/what-is-gmo/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21296423
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12302-014-0014-5
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weed-whacking-herbicide-p/
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/05/17/organic-101-can-gmos-be-used-organic-products