Grain-Free Carrot Cake Muffins

I've been doing a fair bit of experimentation with grain-free baking for a while. And when I cook without any sweeteners, it gets tricky. How do I bake something that tastes good without using any sort of sugar other than fruit?

Well, after trial and error, I managed to adapt this recipe and came up with this. These make a nutritious breakfast or snack.

Enjoy!

2 1/4 cups almond flour (ground almonds)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
4 eggs
3/4 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3 or 4 Mejdooli dates, finely chopped

Heat oven to 350. (You can melt your coconut oil by setting the bottle on the back of the stove while the oven heats.)

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, and mix in coconut oil.

Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ones and mix well.

Stir in carrot, raisins, nuts, coconut, and dates. Mix well.

Line muffin tin with cupcake papers (or grease tin). Fill the papers with the batter.

Bake for 18-20 minutes (or until inserted toothpick comes out clean).

This yields 6 giant muffins, and 3 small ones for me....

Sudden Memory, Apropos of Nothing....

I remember going trout fishing with Dad, my sister, and our next door neighbour, Jake. I think I was about seven at the time, and my sister about three. The fish were biting that day, and I was very excited to catch a fish. Jake and Dad were catching plenty. My sister wasn't trusted with a hook, yet, but instead had a big washer at the end of her line. She was young enough to not know the difference, at that point.

While my Dad was catching a fish, and explaining what to do, Jake snuck down below and somehow, forced a small fish through the hole of my sister's washer, then snuck back up beside us.

"Look!" he exclaimed. "You've got one! Reel it in!"

And so, to her great joy, my sister caught her very first fish.