Gluten-free Sunshine Muffins

❤️Why you'll love these Sunshine Muffins

• They're soft, moist and tender, yet they hold together without crumbling.
• Packed full of apples and carrots, they're full of both healthy fruits and veggies.
• They freeze beautifully, so they make an ideal lunch kit snack.
• The aroma of apples and cinnamon wafting through your house is a great way to begin your day!

🛒 Ingredients

You'll find a complete list of ingredients in the recipe card below. Here are a few notes about what you'll need to make these apple and carrot Sunshine Muffins.

The dry ingredients: This recipe uses a base of finely ground almond flour and tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch.) I find this flour combo works well in gluten-free, grain-free baking.

The wet ingredients: These gluten-free Sunshine Muffins get lots of moisture from shredded carrots and grated apples. I toss the apples with a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice before adding them to the batter.

The oil: You can use your choice of oil, either coconut oil (melted and cooled) or other light oil like avocado or grapeseed oil. Melted butter will also work well if you don't need this muffin recipe to be dairy-free.

The add-ins: raisins add natural sweetness and a juicy bite, walnuts add a little crunch.

The sweetener: pure maple syrup

🔪 Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper or silicone liners. Gluten-free baked goods often stick, so it's important to line the pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, tapioca flour (also known as tapioca starch) baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and sea salt.
3. Toss the grated apple with lemon juice, then add the grated carrots, grated apple, raisins and chopped walnuts to the bowl and toss with the dry ingredients.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and stir until just moistened.
6. Divide evenly among 12 muffin cups.
7. Bake at 350°F. for 18-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake.
8. Let cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove the muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.

❓Do I need to peel the apples?

Your choice. If you've chosen organic apples, you can certainly leave the skin on. It will add extra fiber to the muffins. However, if the skins are bruised or damaged, you may wish to peel the apples.

🔁 Possible Variations

You can substitute other nuts for walnuts. Pecans would be a good sub. I like the combination of apples, raisins and walnuts, but you do you! If you don't like nuts in your muffins, leave them out.

If you like coconut, you can add ½ cup of unsweetened shredded coconut to the batter, too.

You could also add extra spices, like nutmeg and ginger if you'd like.

🥶Storage Instructions

Store these gluten-free Sunshine Muffins at room temperature for two days (if they last that long!) These muffins become moister as they sit, so I like to keep them covered loosely. For longer storage, keep in the fridge, or wrap individually and freeze for up to 3 months.

Then simply pack a muffin in your lunch and it will be thawed and ready to eat by coffee time. If you like, you can reheat them in the microwave for a short time for that freshly baked taste!

🍽 Serving suggestions

These muffins are delicious "as is." They are so moist and flavourful that they don't need butter. I like them for breakfast with this Pineapple Orange Green Smoothie, or my favourite Tropical Turmeric Smoothie. They also make a perfect coffee-time healthy snack.

🗒More gluten-free muffin recipes

My muffin category has 20 recipes for gluten-free or grain-free muffins!

You might also like these Paleo Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Coconut Butter Frosting

or these Mini Gluten-free Carrot Cake Cupcakes