Low Carb Muffins

I'd like to begin this post with an apology for my absence - things have been a little crazy here, as we're in the midst of moving house. Needless to say, baking has been somewhat difficult!


I do have a couple of little treats to post though, rest assured I haven't abandoned my life completely.

I begin with this lovely little gem I stumbled across for low-carb muffins. Being a diabetic, ideally the fewer carbs I consume the better (yes, I'm very good at that... honest!), so I decided to investigate low carb baking. This recipe is absolutely brilliant - so easy to make, and the end product is really, really good! Moist, not too sweet, and delightfully almondy.

 

So, lovely muffins that are healthy...? Nope, I see no reason not to indulge either!
 

Did I mention the other great thing about these muffins? They are so versatile!
Really, the only limitations to what you can do with the recipe are how low carb you want to go with it, and your imagination!
Some ideas for variations follow after the recipe. Please feel free to add any other suggestions in the comments.




Low Carb Muffins (makes 12)

220g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
Quarter of a teaspoon of salt
115g butter, melted and cooled
4 eggs, beaten
80mls water
1-2 tbsp sugar replacement, such as Splenda (amount used depends on how sweet you like your muffins)


Preheat the oven to 180C, and lightly butter a 12-hole muffin tin. (TIP: I used a silicone tin, much easier to get them out!)


Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.


Combine the egg, butter, and water in a jug. Pour this into the dry ingredients.


Mix well until all of the almond mix is well incorporated with the egg mix. You can't over mix it, unlike regular muffins, so keep going until you are satisfied it's well combined!


Divide the mix between the muffin-holes, they should be about 2 thirds full.


Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until lightly golden.


Allow to cool in the tins for a couple of minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.


For the size stated, without variations, approx carbs per muffin = 2g


Advice on storage: Due to the ground almonds, the muffins don't keep for very long - 2 or 3 days in an airtight tin, possibly an extra day or two if you pop the tin in the fridge. However they freeze brilliantly so I would highly recommend storing them this way, in sandwich bags or individually wrapped.


Variations: Try adding fruit to the muffin mix - blueberries work well, or raspberries, both are low carb. If you're not so bothered about the low carb aspect try apple sauce & cinnamon, a tsp of jam dropped on top (it will sink in during cooking and leave a gooey centre!), chocolate chips... anything you like really!


I'm currently enjoying them plain, for breakfast, with cottage cheese and fresh berries.


Enjoy!
Becka xx