Sunday, October 21, 2012

How to Make Almond Flour + Muffin Recipe

I really wanted to purchase some almond flour the other day, but a small bag at the local natural food store was $11.50 (plus tax), and I wasn't about to spend $11.50 (plus tax) just so I could make ten muffins.

Instead, I decided to make my own almond flour, which was still a lot more expensive than buying wheat flour, but I was able to save about $4.50 by buying slivered almonds.  I bought three packages from the baking aisle of my grocery store, which was 18 ounces of slivered almonds for $7.00.

I put them, one package at a time, into my food processor.



I processed them until they were a uniform powder consistency, and stopped as soon as I saw the slightest inclination of clumping (I didn't want to accidentally make almond butter).  The result looked like this:


You would get better results from a vitamix if you have one.  The vitamix can get it into a smooth powder within about 20 seconds, but the food processor is going to leave it with a grittier texture.

After I had done all three packages (18 ounces), I had this jar full + 1 additional cup.


That's it.  That's how you make almond flour.  You can do this with whole almonds, too, but there will be little brown flecks from that outer shell covering (it doesn't effect taste/consistency, though).

Now here's a recipe you can use your home made almond flour in!

In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients.  First, 3 cups of almond flour:


1 tsp of baking soda, and 1 tsp of baking powder:


1/2 tsp of salt (I always eye-ball it from the grinder):

In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.  I put them all in my food processor to ensure the bananas were thoroughly mashed (okay, actually I just hate mashing bananas by hand).

First, 3 eggs:


Then, 3 over-ripe bananas:


1/4 cup of maple syrup and 1/4 cup of honey:


1/4 cup of coconut oil (or butter, if you so desire):


1 tsp vanilla:


Now combine wet and dry ingredients, mixing just slightly until combined.

Distribute the batter between 12 muffin cups:


Bake at 350 for 20 minutes:


The result is REALLY delicious!  I'm so glad I was finally able to try almond flour!  Yes, the texture of the flour is a tad bit gritty, but I didn't mind it at all.  Neither did my kids. :)




Almond Flour Banana Muffins 


3 cups almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil or butter (melted)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add wet mixture to dry mixture.  Stir just to combine.  Fill muffin cups.  Bake for 20 minutes.

This didn't occur me until after I was already eating them, but you might want to add a tsp of cinnamon and a couple tablespoons of ground flax seeds!