B-b-b-baking: Mini Guacamuffins

I'm going to be honest. I've been feeling pretty down lately, so I haven't ventured far from my books and bed. Today, I decided to ease my mind a bit with one of my favourite things to do - baking. I find it so soothing to bake things and watch them change over time in the oven. Let's face it; science is pretty cool.

I had a couple of avocados I picked up. I've been a little bit obsessed with the idea that they are a "natural butter". Good fats? Yes, please.

So it got me thinking...if avocados are basically butter, they can probably substitute for butter in a recipe for cakes or cookies or something of the like, right? Well. According to Google, yes they can. Luckily for me, I can justify my urge to bake tonight because there's some sort of baked goods potlucky thing at Job #1 tomorrow. Another great opportunity to create something weird that doesn't have gluten, eggs, nuts, or dairy. Challenge accepted.

Things I have learned today about avocados:
- Their creamy texture makes them easier to bake with than bananas (despite the fact that I used bananas as well).
- The taste of an avocado is so minute that you can hardly detect it in a baked good if only using the senses of taste or smell. Unless of course you are a professional food person. I am not, just like many people in the world who enjoy eating things.
- The only setback to baking with avocado is that the green colour sticks out unless you were to cover it with chocolate/cocoa. A lot of people seem to have done this, but I'm not as bothered about the green. The green is kind of faint... It can look really pretty when incorporated into a chiffon cake like Kirbie's Cravings did.

Today was all about trying new things...
I made mini cupcake/muffins.
I baked the mini muffins in candy cups. (Because I felt like I could buy a very nice dinner for the price of a Wilton 24 Mini Muffin Baking Pan.)
I used chia seed egg replacers. (Because flax is still gross.)
I made gluten-free, vegan muffins.

Serenity...

They came out looking kind of like little green brioches. I ate one to make sure it didn't taste bad. It didn't :)

Avocado Banana Mini Muffins (adapted from Gluten-Free Goddess)
*Celiac and Vegan-Friendly*
1 avocado
1 banana
1 cup golden yellow sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 chia egg replacers
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

*Of course, you can always use regular eggs or other egg replacers instead of chia seeds. As well, you can substitute other types of flour in place of the rice flour and starch. If you use any gluten-containing flours, you won't need xanthan gum.

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 24 mini muffin tin or spread 24 paper candy cups on a cookie sheet.

• I was a little bit cautious because of all the new things I was trying all in one go, so I only baked 12 at a time in a deep dish (in case it exploded or something crazy like that).

2. To make chia egg replacers, put 2 tbsp of chia seeds in a cup with about 6 tbsp of warm water. Let stand until ready to add eggs.
3. Mash or puree avocado until smooth and creamy, and mix in sugar until combined.
4. Mash banana and add it to the mixture. (You don't have to add the banana. I was just unsure of how the pure avocado taste would come across, so I added the banana. I was thinking about leaving it out at first, but maybe green muffins are scary enough as it is.)
5. Add vanilla to chia egg replacer, stir, and add to wet mixture.
6. Sift all dry ingredients together into another bowl, and add half of it to wet mixture, folding until just combined. Add and incorporate 1/4 cup soy milk. Repeat with remaining half of flour mixture and soy milk.
7. Fill mini muffin tins/candy cups until level and bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

• The first 5 minutes are kind of suspenseful because you don't see a whole lot going on. 7-8 minutes in, they start blooming from their cups.

8. Enjoy your gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, dairy-free mini muffins!

-M