Baking Fail.

We are promised snow, and lots of it, starting tomorrow afternoon and continuing into Thursday. I think the current prediction is 12 inches, but I’m predicting we’ll get nothing. I define nothing as “not enough for the agency I work for to shut down.”  So in the meantime,  I decided to make some muffins.

One of my private, personal resolutions for 2014 is to bake more often and for no reason. Growing up, my mom cooked often and there was always something sweet to eat lying around, and many of my fondest memories center around conversations we had in the kitchen. I want my boys to develop an appreciation for the hard work that goes into preparing a meal or baked goods; I want them to know how to fend for themselves or even excel in the kitchen, and I want them to be able to reflect back and have their own fond memories of time shared with their parents cooking or baking. With that said, though I appreciate a gooey brownie or slice of cheesecake as much as the next person, I’m trying to take a more balanced approach to baking.

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give a whirl. I'm always looking for something easy and nutritious for the boys in the morning, and these muffins, which are sweetened with applesauce and honey instead of traditional sugar, seemed the perfect fit. They are also gluten-free, made with oatmeal instead of regular flour. I added 2 teaspoons of lemon extract to the batter and I think it really makes the flavors pop. The bag of berries I used had some larger pieces and it made more sense to make a loaf than individual muffins. 

I topped it off with some more berries and added a little bit of shredded, unsweetened coconut to make things more interesting texturally. And also because I love coconut. 

*The recipe for muffins says to bake for 20 minutes, but in the loaf pan it took 35.

Truthfully, I was really disappointed. The bread isn't bad, but it's not everything I was hoping for either. My recent experiences with oat flour leave me to believe that I need to combine it with a flour such as coconut, to reduce the gumminess factor of the finished product. 

Ya win some, ya lose some! Have you used other types of flour before? Which do you prefer?