There is nothing I love more than making muffins. Over the years I have evolved batches and batches of muffins with cleaner and cleaner ingredients. I have gone from using whole wheat flour as the base to other wholesome ancient grain flours like kamut flour, and now I am mostly using grain-free flours such as coconut, tigernut, cassava and others. Coconut flour tends to be one of my favourite go-to flours because it has such a gritty, wholesome taste and holds up quite well in most recipes. That is, as long as you have the right ratio of moisture. If not, you will have dry dense muffins and nobody wants that! What I also love about coconut flour is it gives the taste of shortbread. With the muffins in particular, you get that wonderful taste without the sugar, dairy or grains, making these festive muffins not only perfect for the holidays but anytime really – especially for breakfast!
The muffins I have been frequenting lately have been my sweet potato blueberry muffins – which you can find the recipe to in my new ebook A Real Treat. I have been stuck on this recipe for months, since they are just that good.
However, I needed some new inspiration, so I found a recipe on my friend Joy McCarthy’s website. Her Coconut flour Banana Spice Muffins gave me the delicious base for this recipe. So the credit for this recipe goes to her, but of course I had to have my own fun with it. I wanted to add in some festive flare since it is the holidays, and I will be doing some serious entertaining. I figured the combination of pecans and tart cherries would do the trick.
I was lucky enough recently to be supplied with some amazing ingredients from Tropical Link Canada. They carry so many amazing products, many of which I used in this recipe. This included their coconut flour, coconut syrup, coconut oil, tart cherries and kiwi spread.
So let’s get to the recipe…
Cherry Coconut Muffins with Pecans
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2/3 cup mashed bananas
- 1/4 cup coconut nectar
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 4 eggs, whisked
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup tart cherries
- 1/4 cup pecans
- Kiwi spread – 1 tbsp per muffin for topping once baked 🙂
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Then add the wet to the dry ingredients.
- Place batter into muffin tin cups or grease a muffin tin.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes for mini muffins or 20 minutes for regular size or until a fork inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean.
- Makes 15-20 mini muffins. Or 10 if you make them larger.
Recipe credit/Inspiration Joy McCarthy
Side Note: These recipes are low in sugar – making them a suitable muffin to have on hand for a nutritious treat. After having Sarah Wilson on The Ultimate Health Podcast – I have truly re-evaluted my sugar intake. Even when it comes to natural sugars. I am keeping them even more in moderation than ever!
