Baked Goods

If there's a bakery in town, I'll find it. Bakeries - the smell of them, the feel of them...are just some of the coziest places on earth. I especially love the ones that use organic whole grains and other ingredients. But I'll admit, any case full of muffins, breads, cookies and pies melts my heart.

I made these Banana Walnut muffins to quench a bakery craving. It was about midnight and we had just put the babies down to sleep. For some reason, I started to think muffins (then sleep). Two very ripe bananas spurred me on and before you knew it, the house smelled like goodness.

This recipe comes from one of my new favorite baking books, "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" by Annalise Roberts. But this batch came from a gift tin that my friend Karen gave us at Christmas, so all I had to do was add the bananas, milk, eggs and oil.

Made me think I should have these 'just add..' tins on hand at all times.

Recipe:

2 cups Brown Rice Flour Mix

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 packed cup very ripe banana

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon in large mixing bowl. Add bananas and walnuts; stir to coat evenly.

3. Combine milk and oil in small bowl; remove 1 tablespoon of combined liquid and discard it. Beat in eggs. Add liquids to banana mixture and stir until just blended.

4. Fill muffin pans (makes a dozen). Bake 18-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan and serve immediately or cool on rack.

Here's the recipe for Huckleberry Muffins from the same book.