What do you do when you have to bake for a young child who is unable to tolerate wheat or dairy? You can bake these delicious 8-grain or 4-grain mini muffins. This recipe for Whole Grain Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Mini Muffins uses a wheat-free hot cereal as a base. The cereal is soaked in non-dairy milk for 10-30 minutes before you add the remaining ingredients. The mini muffins have a wonderful crunchiness that is very pleasing. I have used either of Bob’s Red Mill 8-Grain Hot Cereal, or Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal (4 wheat-free grains) and both provide a very good result.

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Whole Grain Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Mini Muffins

CHEF TALK: This recipe makes 24 mini muffins – a perfect size for little hands, or for larger appetites, 12 medium sized muffins. The muffins freeze very well. This recipe is adapted from Bob’s Red Mill 8-Grain Gluten & Dairy Free Muffin recipe. I was restricted in some of the ingredients by the dietary restrictions of the children; therefore I used xylitol crystals in place of sugar, and soy milk rather than dairy or nut-based beverages. Feel free to substitute according to your needs. Note that if using xylitol, the baked goods do not brown as a typical baked good would so be sure to check the muffins for doneness after the 15-minute mark.

INGREDIENTS:

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 cup 8-Grain Hot Cereal or Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal
• 1 ¼ cups Soy Milk (or another non-dairy alternative)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

Dry Ingredients:

• ½ cup granulated sugar, or ½ cup brown sugar (or for sugar-free restrictions, ½ cup xylitol crystals or other 1-to-1 sugar alternatives)
• ¾ cup brown rice flour
• ¼ cup tapioca flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 350^oF/325^oF Convection.
2. Combine the 8-Grain Hot cereal with the soy milk and leave to soak for 30 minutes to soften.
3. Prepare the muffin pan by spraying with pan spray and dusting well with brown rice flour. Tap out excess flour. Place the muffin pan on a baking tray. Alternatively, line the muffin tin with paper cups. CHEF TIP: When using paper cup liners, lightly spray them with pan spray before scooping the batter into them to prevent the muffins from sticking to the paper cups.
4. Add the remaining wet ingredients to the cereal and milk mixture.
5. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add to the wet ingredients, and mix just until combined.
6. Portion into the prepared muffin tin or paper muffin cup liners and bake at 350^oF/325^oF Convection for 15 – 20 minutes. Muffins are done when a wooden pick inserted into the centre of the muffin comes out clean. The tops of the muffins will also spring back when pressed.

NOTES: If you are using white sugar or xylitol, the muffins do not brown the same way that baked goods typically would, so check after 15 minutes to test for doneness. There will be a more golden colour in the muffins if brown sugar is used.

LEARNING TIPS:  

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

• Scoops for Portioning
• Preparing Your Pan
• Oven Temperature Accuracy
• Vanilla Extract
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If you try this recipe for Whole Grain Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Mini Muffins, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy! 

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

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