Lemon Ricotta Mini Muffins with Almond Flour (Low-Fat)

I’ve been so excited about the weather getting warmer lately that I had to pull out a summeresqe recipe in celebration. While looking up recipes for lemon muffins, I stumbled upon one that called for ricotta. Conveinently enough, I had a small fat-free tub sitting in my fridge that had yet to be used. I knew I’d found a winner.

As it turns out, these muffins are definitely classified as awesome. Although I don’t bake muffins very often, these are the best I have made. And as an added bonus, they are low in fat and not too dry. To ensure their moistness, I pulled them a few minutes out of the oven before before they were completely done. A few sticky crumbs left behind on the test toothpick = perfect.

Low-Fat Lemon Ricotta Mini Muffins with Almond Flour

Recipe adapted from: Cafe Nilson Blog

Ingredients:

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup ricotta cheese, drained
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk
• 3 tbs margarine (or butter), melted
• 3 tbs unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tbs lemon zest (about 2 medium lemons)
• 1.5 tbs lemon juice (about 2 medium lemons)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease 12 regular sized muffin pans or line with muffin liner. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix soy flour, almond flour, baking powder, sugar substitute and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese and  melted butter.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix until just about moistened. Do not overmix or muffin will be dense.
5. Pour batter into prepared muffin pans. Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until light brown and springy to the touch. Insert toothpick at center of muffin to test for doneness (toothpick must come out clean).
6. When done, remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

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I also did a bit of playing around with the muffins by adding different toppings into a slightly larger batch. I had some frozen berries left in the freezer, so I pushed a few of those into some muffins. Then I found some frozen cranberries and studded those into a couple more. Finally, I found a bag of left-over mini chocolate chips and put those in one muffin. Here is what I found…

Chocolate chip muffin: Disgusting. The flavors did not compliment one another at all. I took one bite and threw it out. Who needs chocolate to ruin healthy muffin anyhow?

Cranberry muffins: Parfait! I loved the tart and sweet combination. Much better than the orange-cranberry fusion most commonly used in baked goods.

Blueberry muffins: Absolutely THE BEST. Of course everyone already knows lemon-blueberry muffins and/or quick bread is a classically delectable combo. But the blueberries really did take these muffins over the top. I recommend using this recipe with some fresh blueberries next time. Just place a few into the batter once it’s already been lined to avoid a totally blue-green looking muffin (unless you’re into strangely-colored food, which in that case is A-okay).

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