Before I get into chatting about muffins, I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for your amazing, inspiring and humbling comments on my two year blogiversary post. Besides hearing about how many of you read Tasty Yummies and have been inspired by it, reading all of your touching comments about what makes you happy, seriously moves me. I have read each and every comment and so many of them brought tears to my eyes. So, even though I haven’t responded to all of you, thank you all from the bottom of my heart!
The last week has been a really great one for me, between all the inspiring comments about happiness on my post, meeting a new friend and the wonderful week of yoga I had, I am seriously on cloud nine. I have managed to get to a ton of yoga classes this past week (6 in the last 7 days) and despite my injury a few weeks back, I seem to have found a really sweet spot in my yoga practice, at least it really feels that way to me. Every time I think I couldn’t possibly enjoy the practice of yoga and everything it brings, any more than I already do, I have a breakthrough week. This week that feeling came a few different ways, the first is that I got to spend some time with a fellow student that I have practiced alongside many times. Upon hearing the news that she would be moving back to Rochester tomorrow, after nearly a year of living in Buffalo, before heading off to Africa to teach yoga, we decided we had to get together before she left. We grabbed some food and had a couple drinks and just hung out and got to know each other better. I rarely meet people whom I feel that instant of a connection to, and it was yoga that brought us there. I know that although Lyndsey will be far away and I am relocating to California later this year, we both agreed we will stay in contact and who knows where that connection will take us. I feel there are people in this world that we are meant to meet and even though we wish the circumstances would be different or that they lived closer, etc, it is incredible how powerful it can be that we find one another despite all that. Life is pretty amazing. Besides all of the amazing teachers at East Meets West Yoga that I have gotten to know and love, there are so many other great people that are there, like me, to practice, that I have shared such meaningful conversations with, or even just a warm hello! I feel like I have never ever felt that sense of community anywhere else in my life.
The other thing that made this week of yoga a special one is that I was able to get into three different arm balances that I hadn’t quite been able to master before. I had gotten close on all three in the past at different times, and maybe popped up into them once or twice (likely in happenstance), but it was like I hit a light switch this week and found something that I hadn’t found before. It felt amazing! That is what I love most about yoga, it is ever changing and ever growing. I can’t believe there was ever a time I told myself that I would never be “better” then where I was at that point and that I just couldn’t get into certain poses. Once I let go of that frustration and fear, it not only became so much more enjoyable, but I also found myself doing things I never thought I could. I can honestly say that yoga has changed me both on the mat and off and I will be forever grateful for that.
OK, let’s talk muffins! Strawberry basil is one of my absolute favorite flavor combos! I discovered it a few summers back when I was obsessed with mojitos. I started playing with basil instead of mint and adding in strawberries instead of lime. It makes for a great adult drink if you add rum, or a refreshing non-alcoholic drink if you just muddle the two together and top it off with a little sparkling water. They are so perfect together, the tart and subtle sweetness from the strawberries paired with the sweet, almost peppery flavor from the basil. If you aren’t a fan of basil, you can add in fresh mint to these muffins, or just skip it altogether. But I highly recommend trying the two together if you haven’t yet, it is a wonderful surprise for your palette.
These muffins are bursting with flavor and are also quite healthy for you. They are not only gluten-free, but they are totally grain-free, they are also dairy-free and refined sugar-free. I haven’t yet played with using an egg replacer to make these vegan, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. If you do try it out, please do let me know what you think. This recipe makes 6 large muffins. I fill the batter all the way to the very top and as you can see in the photos, that gives you the lovely puffy muffin tops, if you want more muffins, just fill the cups up less and keep an eye on your bake time, it may take a little less time.
Thank you again guys for your wonderful blogiversary wishes and if you haven’t yet entered the contest, please do. You have 5 different opportunities to enter and the giveaway closes on Wednesday.
[print_this]Strawberry Basil Almond Flour Muffins – Gluten-free, Dairy-free (vegan option)
makes 6 or 7 large muffins
- 2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 local farm fresh large brown eggs (you can try an egg replacer here, I haven’t yet however)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add in the honey, vanilla and oil and whisk until well combined. Add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring until combined. Carefully fold in the strawberries and basil.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling to the top if you want a nice muffin dome, or as us ladies know it “muffin tops”. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the muffin pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Gently pop the muffins out to continue cooling on the rack (don’t cool them longer than 5 minutes in the hot pan they’ll definitely get soggy). Enjoy a muffin after they have cooled 10 minutes, you know you want to.
I find storing muffins covered tightly in the refrigerator or freezer to be the best. Just pop one out as you want it, heat slightly in the microwave if you want to take the chill off and go.
*Something I have learned from baking on my own and from reading Elana’s Pantry, is that not all almond flour (or meal) is created equal. Bob’s Red Mill makes an almond flour, though easy to find, that doesn’t seem to react quite the same as other almond flours. It doesn’t seem to rise as much and it just seems to leave recipes flat. On Elana’s recommendation I now buy Honeyville brand almond flour in a 5-lb bag from their website.
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38 Responses
Strawberry and basil is one of my favorite flavor combinations. These muffins look divine – and congratulations on learning a few new arm balances 🙂
Thanks and thanks 🙂
Yes, definitely basil for mojitos. I like to infuse the simple syrup with basil for an extra kick. I think it’d be awesome with strawberries and lime. And, I might have extra strawberries if I go buy a flat to make these muffins. 😉
Oooh great idea infusing the simple syrup, I have done that before, but I always forget about it. And yes on the strawberries and the limes, together. I do that sometimes when I have both and it’s lovely.
Love the flavor combo! Will have to try. And GOOD LUCK with all your moves-i know it is a busy time!
Definitely. A must try! You’ll have to let me know what you think. And thanks, I am really starting to get excited about the big move out west. Cannot wait!
Okay wait, hold on. Did you just say that you are relocating to California???? Where are you moving to, sister? P.S. Those muffins are simply perfection!
Yes ma’am! Hubby and I are relocating to California some time in 2012. We are thinking the Long Beach area. We are headed out there next week to do a little more exploring and to start making this dream a reality. When we get home the house goes on the market and when it sells we are gone. Are you in California?
GET THE HELL OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am from the city NEXT to Long Beach (Seal Beach) and I am moving about 20 minutes away from the LBC this month. Okay for reals. You have no choice. You WILL be my friend in real life now 🙂 If you have free time, I would LOVE to meet up with you when you are here. I know that you guys will be busy so no worries but just throwing that out there 🙂
Cara – no WAYYY! That’s amazing. Yay now I am even more excited about this move! This trip next week is gonna be kinda short and we will be doing lots of exploring, but I will definitely email you before we leave to touch base. If we don’t meet up this time, there will certainly be plenty of time in the near future when we are out there for good!!! 🙂
ooo, i’ve never tried the strawberry/basil combo but i am intrigued. these muffins looks muy delicioso!
Lou, you absolutely must try them together. If you like them individually, I think you will love them together. 🙂
I love strawberries and basil in cocktails too, but never thought of using it in muffins! These look delicious 🙂
Is Almond Flour the same as Almond Meal? Also, would any other fruit work well here? Blueberries, or something tropical like mangoes?
Yes it is the same. I use Honeyville brand almond flour/meal. Yes other fruit should work just fine, mangoes may create a bit more moisture than the strawberries but I would think if it seems like it is super juicy, you could either add in less mango or just add in more flour. Let me know if you do experiment and how it works out. Thanks.
These look gorgeous! Could I sub the coconut oil for something else? I don’t have any in the cupboard and I want to whip up a batch!
Hi Sarah, thanks. Absolutely, you could use a light olive oil or grapeseed oil in place of the coconut oil. Let me know how they turn out.
[…] again I’ve tried a recipe from Tasty Yummies!. The recipes are so straight forward and even sound delicious before you’ve even smelled […]
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Excited to whip these up. I’ve recently begun limiting gluten and dairy and have been uninspired. This has lit a fire today.
These look yummy! But just wondering how can they be vegan if there are eggs involved? Is there something incab use in place of tge eggs?
They aren’t vegan and they aren’t listed as “vegan”, it simply says “vegan option”. With an egg replacer these would be vegan.
I was wondering, is there any way of making this recipe using soy flour instead of almond meal?
Alix, I would try another nut or seed flour using any other nut/seed of choice. I suspect that Hazelnut, Macadamias, Cashews or Sunflower seeds turned into flour would all taste great! Soy or coconut flours WILL NOT WORK. As well as any of the other grain based flours will NOT work. Stick to the nuts and seeds for this particular recipe.
I just made this recipe. Unfortunately I did NOT get cupcakes 🙁 The “batter” was crumbly and dough like so the end product was a strawberry basil crumble. I did use regular flour so I don’t know if that made a difference, but put almond extract in to get the almond flavor. Also I used coconut manna oil which a thick substance until I heated it to liquify it, but I feel that is started hardening as I was mixing everything together. I’m not sure if that made a difference or not. I did not have a problem with the end product, I thought they tasted great! But I do have some “batter” left and was hoping to make some cupcake from it. Do you have any suggestions for making it more of a batter to form cupcakes while baking? I was thinking adding another egg, but wasn’t sure! Please help if you can!
Rochelle if you used regular flour (or even gluten-free flour), that would absolutely make a HUGE difference. Almond flour is basically just ground up almond, which has a completely different makeup than flour. Nut flours are there own thing and cannot just be substituted out in a recipe, except possibly with another nut or seed flour. I haven’t used regular flour in over 8 years, so I cannot help with any suggestions there and since this recipe is for muffins made with almond flour, I cannot recommend how to make them more like cupcakes. I would suggest finding a cupcake recipe you like and going from there. Sorry I cannot be of more help.
Good luck.
Where would you get an almond flour? And is regular flour bad for you?
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe, I just made these and they are good but they don’t look very good. They stayed clumpy when they baked, they didn’t form like a muffin. Your picture makes them look like real muffins but mine just baked in the shape that I put them in the cupcake paper, so they are not pretty. Any suggestions? Thank you much!
Afshan, what type of almond flour did you use?
I used Trader Joes brand. So I should stick to Honeyville Brand then?
I find that Honeyville provides far superior results to other brands, when baking. I have tried both Trader Joes and Bob’s Red Mill and they just don’t provide the same light and fluffy finished products, that Honeyville does. Sorry this didn’t work out for you.
Yum! I just recently started following your blog and love it! I just made these the other day because we had so much basil in our garden. They are super yummy! I am guessing I should have let the eggs come to room temperature before I added my melted coconut oil…..as soon as I added it to the egg it started to harden and get clumpy. 🙁 But I worked at it to get the majority of the clumps gone. I need to find a secret of getting the muffins out of the pan without breaking the ‘muffin top’ off too! LOL! 🙂
Making them right now! Can’t wait to taste them…thank you!!!
I’ve now made these twice and loved them every time. The second time I actually used some more strawberries and pureed them with the rest of the liquid ingredients, and upped the almond meal a little more. They were absolutely ridiculously moist! And the basil just gives an amazing contrasting taste that makes you want to go back for more! Thanks!!
I’ve now made these twice and loved them every time. The second time I actually used some more strawberries and pureed them with the rest of the liquid ingredients, and upped the almond meal a little more. They were so moist! And the basil just gives an amazing contrasting taste that makes you want to go back for more! Thanks!!
Made these with blueberries instead of strawberries. The are delicious but didn’t rise at all and didn’t form a muffin. I used the Honeyville flour, any clue why is this happening?
I tried twice and both times got the same result…
I just made these muffins and while mixing the ingredients together, the consistency was very crumbly and not what I expected. I was expecting to pour liquid batter into the muffin molds, not dry crumbly batter. The end results were unpalatable! The muffins did not come out looking like the images posted. I followed the instructions to the “T”. I felt like I wasted a lot of ingredients for this failed recipe 🙁
What type of almond flour did you use?