Lemon Chia Seed Muffins (df,gf)
IDK about you, but when I think of lemon anything, I think of spring/summer that in-between time where it’s too chilly to be eating watermelon popsicles, but too warm to be making pumpkin bread. These lemon chia seed muffins are my healthy take on the traditional lemon poppyseed muffins we all love.
Were you ever the person who always had to have an oversized muffin with your coffee to take to your morning class in college? Welp, that was me! I hope you enjoy this healthy take on an old school favorite of mine, made a little healthier. These classic poppy seed muffins are filled with fiber by switching out the poppy seeds with chia seeds! These are also gluten free and dairy free (minus the icing) for anyone with sensitivities!
I prefer freshly squeezed lemon juice for 1) tastes much better and “real” compared to the stuff in a bottle! 2) lemons are cheap! Also, I couldn’t find my little zester (we just moved, give me some slack), so I just carefully cut little pieces of the lemon skin off with a sharp knife- worked just fine! P.S- anyone else have things straight up disappear when they move? Where did that zester go?
If you don’t have arrowroot starch on hand, I highly recommend grabbing a bag next time you’re at the grocery store! My favorite brand is by Bob’s Red Mill. You can purchase it on Amazon and have it delivered straight to your door if you’re not about that grocery store life right now. Arrowroot starch adds a great consistency when baking and gives that fluffiness we all strive for in our muffin creations. Arrowroot starch is also really great for breading anything or giving that extra crisp to your proteins when pan frying!
One little tip about chia seeds is that they are shelf staple! This means that you can buy them in bulk and keep them in the pantry for what feels like forever. I get a big bin also from Amazon, but you can find them at almost all grocery stores now a days!
Why do we want our coconut oil to be melted but not hot? We want that smooth consistency of it being a liquid, since coconut oil is more like a solid at room temperature. But we don’t want the oil to be too hot or else it will start to cook the eggs in the batter (yuck).
Recipe found below, let me know what you think!
Ingredients:
Muffins:
4 eggs (room temp)
2 cups almond flour
1/3 cup arrowroot starch
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
1/4 cup raw honey (can sub maple syrup)
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted but not hot)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp chia seeds
Zest from 1 large or 2 small lemons
Drizzle:
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp greek yogurt
Process:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Lightly grease or line 12 muffin tins
3) Whisk eggs and add wet ingredients to a medium sized bowl. Add dry ingredients separately then combine to wet. No need for an electric mixer here. Slowly mix by hand until batter is evenly smooth.
- Be careful not to over mix as this can lead to access air entering the mixture, leading to a finished product with air bubbles!
4) Fill muffin tins with batter and bake for 15-18 minutes.
For the drizzle- combine ingredients and whisk until smooth. Make sure that your muffins have completely cooled before frosting them.
Feel free to use your favorite store bought vanilla icing as well! I prefer Simple Mills, Vanilla, made with coconut oil!
Frost and enjoy!
