Introduction: Healthy Lemon Poppy-seed Muffins
These Lemon Poppy-seed muffins are made healthy by using coconut oil instead of butter, coconut sugar instead of cane sugar, and some gluten free flour replacing some of the all-purpose flour. These make a great snack anytime of the day.
Enjoy!
Step 1: Ingredients
Ingredients: (makes 12 muffins)
½ cup softened coconut oil
½ cup coconut sugar
2 eggs, separated
½ cup + ⅓ cup all purpose flour
½ cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons poppy-seeds
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup buttermilk (to easily make your own buttermilk, see step #_)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Step 2: Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins, or place little muffin papers in each.
Step 3: Oil + Sugar + Egg
In a large bowl, cream coconut oil and coconut sugar. Add eggs one at a time, until creamy and combined.
Place the egg whites separately in a medium deep bowl.
OR:
You can put the lemon zest and sugar into a food processor and blend until zest is all blended in with the sugar. This is good to impart a more lemony flavor. THEN you would put the sugar in with the coconut oil, and proceed normally.
Step 4: Buttermilk Substitute
If you don't have buttermilk, then you can easily make this substitute, that works just as well:
You'll need 1/2 cup of buttermilk, so in a liquid measuring glass, pour in 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar. Then pour in the milk till it is filled up to 1/2 cup. Let sit for a few minutes, until curdled.
Step 5: The Dry Ingredients
In a separate medium bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, poppy-seeds, and lemon zest. (if you already blended the lemon zest in with the sugar like I earlier suggested, then obviously, you won't be putting it into this bowl)
Step 6: Putting It All Together
Dump the flour into the sugar/oil mixture. Alternate this with pouring in the buttermilk, and lemon juice, and then vanilla, until everything is combined.
Step 7: The Egg White
With a high-speed handmixer, whip the egg white until tall peaks form, and it is light and fluffy.
Step 8: Finishing and Baking
Carefully fold in the egg white into the batter until completely incorporated. Spoon evenly into the 12 muffin tins.
Bake in oven for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.