Foodie Friday with Epicure: Carrot Cranberry Muffins #glutenfree #dairyfree #epicure

I have really enjoyed dried cranberries lately, and have been looking to add them to whatever recipe I can.  With my fridge tray full of carrots, I decided to combine both to bake Carrot Cranberry Muffins.  As part of an Eat Clean diet, the challenge is always trying to reduce your sugar intake especially in baking.  Traditionally most muffins, especially store-bought, are high in calories, sugars and fats.  However, most muffin recipes can be adapted to include less of these and still taste delicious.  I also find that my best homemade gluten free muffins are when they include pureed/grated vegetables and fruits to add a bit of moistness.  In addition, I like to use my combination of chickpea and brown rice flours.  Rice flours tend to be a bit drier when baking so chickpea flour adds a bit of moistness (and the brown rice flour offsets the beanie flavour of the chickpeas).   And as always, I love adding Epicure Selections spices such as Ground Allspice!

Ingredients:

1 cup Chickpea Flour
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
1 tsp. Epicure Selections Allspice
1/2 cup Sucanat Sugar
1/2 cup Apple Sauce
1/2 cup Vegan Butter (Earth Balance)
3 1/2 tbsp. Egg White (or use 1 Whole Egg)
1 cup Finely Grated Carrots (**I use my food processor to grate the carrots to fine pieces)

1. Combine dry ingredients together.
2. Combine vegan butter and sucanat sugar together.  Then add apple sauce, egg white and grated carrots.  Stir until well combined.
3. Add dry ingredients to the carrot mixture and combine.
4. Add to a greased muffin tin.
5. Cook at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

Spice up your baking with Allspice from Epicure Selections.

For this and other products, contact me to see how you can add this to your kitchen pantry!