Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

2/3 cups almond meal or flour
1/2 cup quinoa flakes (cereal flakes, not whole quinoa)
1/2 cup sorghum flour 
1/4 cup tapioca starch 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum 
3/4 teaspoon sea salt 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
1/2 cup pure maple syrup 
1/4 cup coconut oil 
2 organic free-range eggs, beaten or 1/3 c water with 2 T Ground Chia Seeds, mixed
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract
1 packed cup shredded zucchini

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond meal, quinoa flakes, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, xanthan gum, sea salt, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Add in the maple syrup, oil, beaten eggs or chia seed mixture, and bourbon vanilla extract. Beat the batter until it is smooth and slightly sticky. 

Add in the shredded zucchini and stir by hand to combine. 

Spoon the muffin batter into 11-12 muffin cups lined with muffin papers. 

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until the tops are golden and firm to the touch. A wooden pick inserted into the center should emerge clean. 

Cool the muffin pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Gently ease the muffins out of the pan to continue cooling on the rack (don't cool them in the hot pan- they'll get soggy).

Adjusted original recipe from Gluten Free Goddess.

Optional Icing Recipe from a friend:

14 ounces canned coconut milk
1 cup palm sugar (I use either Big Tree Farms or Madhava)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Small pinch of sea salt

In a small heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the coconut milk, palm sugar, and maple syrup. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes and then remove from heat.
Whisk in the coconut oil, vanilla, and sea salt.
Allow the Caramel Sauce to cool for 20 minutes. A thin film will naturally form over the top of the sauce; this is perfectly normal. Simply give the sauce a good whisk before pouring it into a glass airtight container (I use a canning jar). The sauce will continue to thicken (although not much) while it cools.
Store in the refrigerator. Can be served warm or cold. Use within 5-7 days.
Megan’s Recipe Notes:
This caramel sauce is just that – a sauce. It is fairly runny and won’t get really thick like a dairy-filled caramel will. I’ve tried simmering it for longer periods of time (40 minutes) just to test it. It does get slightly thicker, but I actually prefer the ease of a 15 minute simmer time. If you would like to simmer it longer for a thicker consistency, I suggest reducing the amount of palm sugar used to 3/4 cup.

I highly, highly recommend using palm sugar in this recipe. Palm sugar has a wonderful caramel-like flavor, so it really adds to the richness of the sauce. I tried making this recipe once using sucant and didn’t care for it. Trust me, use palm sugar!

When you first bring the coconut milk, palm sugar and maple syrup to a boil, don’t leave it unattended on the stove. It can (and will) boil over if you aren’t careful. Keep an eye on it.