Lemon & Poppyseed Muffins

At less than 180 calories per muffin, these low sugar, high protein,low fat muffins are healthy, wholesome, and moist and chewy with a tangy melt-in-your mouth burst of lemon.

1½ cups GF flour blend

1½ cups almond meal*

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 lemon, zested

2 cups zucchini, finely grated, strained over paper towels, and loosely packed

3 eggs

½ cup sugar**

2 T. poppy seed cake and pastry filling or 2 T. poppy seeds

½ cup low fat buttermilk or plain yogurt

1-2 T. olive oil

1 t. GF lemon extract, optional (or 1 T. fresh lemon juice)

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 12 muffin tray with paper liners.

Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest and zucchini.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with sugar/sweetener until creamy. Blend in the poppy seed filling or poppy seeds, buttermilk/yogurt, olive oil and lemon extract or lemon juice.

Now mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Do not over mix. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, filling three-fourths full. Bake 25-30 minutes and test with a toothpick for doneness. Allow to cool before removing paper liners.

Notes: *I used 1½ cups Trader Joe's Blanched Almond Meal. **In place of the sugar, use 3 T. agave syrup or 1/4 cup powdered stevia (Trader Joe’s brand); increase the flour in the recipe by a couple of tablespoons.

Makes: Twelve muffins.

For more recipes, check out my cookbook: "Delicious! The Very Best of Gluten Free and Wheat Free Cooking. It is available at:   

http://www.celiacdiseaseinfo.org

http://www.amazon.com/Delicious-Cooking-Collection-Celiacs-Sensitive/dp/0615305709/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282852260&sr=1-