This is The Most Perfect Muffins EVER! You can’t tell it’s made from Zero Grains! I got so excited after making these that I decided to taste-test them on some non-Paleo friends and got a great reception from them. Two of them asked for the recipe (doing a little dance now).
Of course, there’s a secret ingredient to the recipe that makes the muffins so much fluffier and more like wheat-based muffins.
The ingredients are pretty simple: almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, butter, eggs, honey, chocolate chips, and … the secret ingredient…a little bit of whey protein powder. If you’re concerned that whey protein is not Paleo or Primal or good for you, then I’d suggest you read Mark Sisson’s article on this…in fact Mark even sells whey protein powder! So, unless you’re super lactose intolerant, there’s no harm to adding this ingredient to your baking arsenal.
I also want to thank Carolyn Ketchum (from All Day I Dream About Food) for first introducing me to the possibilities of baking with whey protein powder, and in fact, this muffin recipe is based on her almond crusted butter cake recipe.
This recipe makes exactly 12 muffins using this silicone muffin pan. Let me know if you love this recipe as much as I do!
Ingredients
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup whey protein powder (chocolate or vanilla flavored or unflavored)
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup grass-fed butter, melted
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F.
- Mix all the ingredients together (you don't need a whisk) except for the chocolate chips.
- Add in the chocolate chips to the mixture last.
- Place into a muffin pan (makes 12 muffins).
- Bake in oven for 35 minutes.
Carolyn January 7, 2013 at 12:41 am
Really? Me? I introduced you to baking with whey? I am so flattered and the muffins look amazing. I am pinning these!
Louise January 7, 2013 at 12:56 am
Thanks so much Carolyn! I’ve made your cake before too and everyone (including my parents) loved it!
Terri January 7, 2013 at 12:59 am
Have you tried this recipe with coconut flour? Just wondering if I could use coconut instead of almond flour. Thanks!
Louise January 7, 2013 at 1:07 am
Terri, I haven’t tried it with coconut flour. It would probably work, but you would have to add in more eggs as coconut flour can be really dry and crumbly without extra eggs. Please let me know if you try it!
Terri January 19, 2013 at 3:54 pm
I made a half batch, replacing 1/4 cup almond flour with coconut flour. I used three eggs. I used 3/4 cup homegrown blueberries instead of chocolate chips. The rest of the recipe was the same as yours. Excellent! My husband and I think these are the best muffins we’ve made so far. Thanks, Louise!!
In case anyone’s wondering about the coconut flour, I bought a bag of it and keep trying to use it in different recipes. It has such a distinctive taste, so I keep trying to mask it. I also made crackers with it: 2 eggs, 2 T butter, 1/3 c. coconut flour, 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese. Still didn’t love them. Next time I’m going to try one egg, 1 t. garlic powder, only half the coconut flour .
Louise January 19, 2013 at 6:11 pm
I’m so glad both you and your husband liked them!
Regarding coconut flour – I’ve found that mixing it with almond flour (mostly almond flour) works well.
helaine delillo January 15, 2013 at 7:30 am
omg…best muffins ever!! Thanks so much for sharing…I am brand new to this paleo life style…just trying to learn as much as I can…I want to be able to eat and not gain weight and I hope paleo is the way to go.Any advice to a new “paleo”?
Louise January 15, 2013 at 5:50 pm
Hi Helaine! My best advice would be to start cooking more. It’s easy to get derailed if you eat out too much (I’ve been there!). What I love about Paleo is the community atmosphere – so definitely reach out with any questions or problems.
Terri January 19, 2013 at 3:56 pm
Check out marksdailyapple.com
Two things really resonated with me–severely limit sugar and severely limit grains. His website is “primal” rather than “paleo.”
Louise January 19, 2013 at 6:42 pm
Mark’s website is a great resource for everything! Here’s a list of some other websites on Paleo/Primal http://ancestralchef.com/paleo-websites-blogs/
Jenny February 16, 2013 at 6:22 pm
These muffins are beautiful. Just beautiful.
However, I am super lactose-intolerant [really frustrating living in the land of dairy with access to the most incredible pastured+raw cheeses and such]! Do you think I could use another “healthy choice” protein powder, or maybe something like unsweetened applesauce?
Great work and thank you for the grade A food porn!
Jenny
Louise February 17, 2013 at 1:33 am
Thanks Jenny – the protein powder makes the muffins fluffy because they act in a similar way in baking to gluten in wheat flour. I haven’t tried making this with egg protein powder (which tastes quite different), so I’m not too sure if it would work. I believe hemp protein powder might be another option, although again I have not tried it out. You could also just omit the protein powder, although it won’t taste quite the same.
Candace April 17, 2013 at 8:49 pm
Can’t wait to try theses out! What type of whey protein do you prefer? Any favorites? Or what did you use?
Louise April 18, 2013 at 12:57 am
Candace, any whey protein powder should work! Mark Sisson makes one that’s pretty good.