So…I haven’t been totally grain-free the past few weeks – uhhh, especially since hubby and I just got back from vacation and we kind of just ate the whole time…and maybe even had chips with pico and guacamole every single day.  However, I have enjoyed experimenting with different types of baking with my new grain-free interests.

What you are witnessing is a complete experiment.  I wanted to make garlic knots and could not find a grain free recipe.  So I decided to create one.  Except, it did not turn out like garlic knots, so I improvised with these cute little muffins.  Not gonna lie, the texture is different.  They are very flaky, yet very dense.  And surprisingly very delicious!  I had a friend over for dinner who openly admits her “pickiness” towards food, but even she loved them!

A lot of grain free bread recipes call for a mixture of coconut flour and almond flour, so that’s what I went with, though I mostly guessed at the ratio.  From the research I’ve done, coconut flour is very dry so I used a bit less of that compared to the “oily” almond flour.  Here’s what I came up with.  If you find a way to improve this recipe, please let me know!

Garlic Muffins Recipe

makes 16 mini muffins

For the muffins:

1C almond flour

1/2C coconut flour

1 packet of active dry yeast

1C warm water, to activate yeast

2T olive oil

1t sugar

1/2t sea salt

For the Garlic Topping:

2T butter, I used vegan Earth Balance

2T garlic

2T fresh parsley

I first activated the yeast in the warm water, following the back of the yeast packet’s directions, pouring the yeast on top of the warm water.

Meanwhile, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and in one bowl I combined the flours, salt, and sugar.

Whisk everything together.

After about 5 minutes of the yeast resting it looked like this.

Then lightly whisk the yeast with the water.  The color and texture will look similar to almond milk.

Next, I made a well for the olive oil, cut through the muffin mix a few times, and then added the yeast.

I have yet to exactly figure out how to knead dough, particularly grain-free dough.  So I mushed it around for several minutes and eventually formed a large ball.

I left the ball in the bowl, covered with a kitchen towel to rise for several hours and nothing happened.  So I have figured out for you, that this particular combination of baked goods will not rise.  So you can skip that step…ahem.

So, using a cookie dough scooper, I placed the dough in each mini muffin tin well.

I then baked them for about 10 minutes.  Due to the nature of the dough texture, the way they are in the pan is the way they will come out, so you may want to take care in packing the scooper to get smooth, round muffin tops.

While the muffins are baking, begin to prepare the delicious garlic topping by chopping the garlic and parsley.

In a small saucepan on medium heat, combine the garlic and parsley with the vegan butter.

Keep on the heat for 1-2 minutes to melt the butter and to cut the spiciness of the fresh garlic, then remove from heat.

You’ll know the muffins are ready when the tops are slightly browned.

Allow to cool for a few moments before removing them from the muffin tin.  Once they are removed, brush the garlic sauce on top and serve immediately.

They were a great compliment to our spaghetti dinner!  (Try the quinoa noodles for a great grain-free pasta option!)