Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

This is the first gluten-free recipe I ever tried. It's super easy once you have the ingredients (I have local suggestions for the more unusual ones). This is one of my favorite treats to make for myself when I have a few brown bananas in the house.

For me, this recipe is perfect as is. I did have to make quite a few adjustments for Nate's sensitive palate and food allergies. You will find Nate's variations at the end of the recipe. Now these are the only thing Nate will eat for breakfast! They also make a great snack for his lunch box. For this I thank our wonderful nutritionist, Melissa Pickell. You can find this recipe and lots more yummy stuff in her cookbook "Melissa's Marvelous Meatless Meals" which you can purchase on her website at www.pickellnutrition.com. Enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Chip Minis

Dry ingredients
3/4 cup garbanzo (chickpea) flour
1/4 cup potato starch (not potato flour!)
1/4 cup tapioca starch (also called tapioca starch flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp sea salt

Wet ingredients
3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium)
6 Tbsp agave nectar
6 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

3/4 cup gluten-free dairy-free chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly oil a mini muffin tin. Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together all wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups a little more than half full (you may need to make more than one batch or use 2 muffin tins). Bake for 15-18 minutes. Muffins should be lightly browned and firm on top. When done, remove from oven and cool in pan. If you remove them too early, they will fall apart.

Nate's Mini Chip Muffin Variations

Nate's peanut allergy also triggers a sensitivity to legumes, so I substitute brown rice flour for the garbanzo. I like to keep a container of brown rice flour mix (see recipe below) handy so I don't have to measure and mix all 3 flours/starches every time. Nate also has an aversion to bananas but I discovered that unsweetened applesauce works just as well. Of course, I don't use the almond extract. I also cut the chocolate chips back to 1/2 cup. I could probably cut back more, but then I'd have an unhappy boy.

If you have trouble finding agave nectar, you can substitute honey. As of this writing, my local Shop Rite carries most of the ingredients for my version of the muffins (including agave nectar!). For the tapioca starch, brown rice flour (or garbanzo flour) and chocolate chips I go to Wegmans or any health food store. The Enjoy Life brand of GF, CF, egg-free, nut-free chocolate chips are the equivalent of the major brands' mini chips. Sometimes I use Shop-Rite brand chocolate chips in a pinch as they do not list milk, wheat, egg or peanut on their label.

Be aware that these muffins tend to be a little denser than the other version. Because the rice flour doesn't contain as much protein as the bean flour, these muffins don't rise very much. I fill the muffin tin closer to the top of each cup. They also take a little longer to bake (20 min) before the tops brown a bit.

Brown Rice Flour Mix
(makes 5 cups or 4 batches of muffins!)

3 cups brown rice flour (I use Superfine Brown Rice Flour from Authentic Foods)
1 cup potato starch (not potato flour!)
1 cup tapioca starch

Sift the brown rice flour into a large bowl. Spoon back into the sifter and repeat 2 more times. Add potato starch and tapioca starch. Sift again or stir with a wire whisk. Flour can be stored in a container with an air-tight lid. Remember to use a separate sifter for gluten-free flour mixes.