Going bananas

At some point in your life there will come a time when too many bananas have been bought and not enough eaten.  When this happens to you and you have bananas that are too ripe,  make muffins!  Muffins are quick and easy and the perfect take-along, hand held food. These low glycemic  muffins are made with coconut flour and coconut oil making them gluten free, high fiber, protein rich, and low carb, and if you skip the chocolate chips they become sugar-free.  They are moist and delicious.

You will notice when baking with coconut flour that the recipes use a lot of eggs .  That's because coconut flour is so dense and absorbent and the eggs prevent the baked product form getting too dry , giving it a more cake-like texture.  Also, because it is so dense you only need to use a fraction of what you would need if using other flours.  You can't substitute coconut flour cup for cup in recipes for other flours due to this.  I think the basic substitution is 1/4 - 1/3 cup coconut flour for every 1 cup of regular flour.  Unless you are very experienced in baking with coconut flour I would recommend using already established recipes because it is quite a bit more expensive than regular flour.

                                             Coconut Flour Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins 



6 eggs, whisked
1/3 cup coconut milk (or any nut milk)
1 tablespoon maple syrup, optional
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup coconut flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 med)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
 1/4 cup chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 400.  Line muffin pan (12) with paper liners or parchment.

In large bowl whisk eggs, coconut milk, maple syrup, salt and vanilla.  Set aside.  Measure and mix coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Sift dry ingredients into egg mixture while briskly whisking.  Mix well.   Stir in coconut oil, bananas, chocolate chips and pecans.

Bake for 18-20 mins.  Cool in pan for 10 min.  Store cooled muffins in closed container in fridge for longer storage.