Who Knew?

Who knew you could get flour from chestnuts? Certainly not me and as an individual navigating a gluten free world, I am always in pursuit of new flours! My dear friend Kathy, the beekeeper knew. She gave me this package of gluten free chestnut flour for Christmas. I was undone, mostly by the generosity of someone who would go out of their way to find a unique, gluten free item for me to enjoy. Not only that, but shortly after she gave me the flour, she showed up with chocolate chunk muffins she had made with chestnut flour. I will confess, I ate all four of them during the course of that day. They were simply divine. I could tell right away the flour was sweet and mellow, perfect for baking.

The flour came from Allen Creek Farm, a chestnut farm in the Northwest. You can check out their website at www.ChestnutsOnLine.com for recipes and nutritional information. I have not seen this flour in any of my local grocery stores and I haven't read about it on other gluten-free blogs. As for myself, I am making more of those muffins Kathy gave me!

Kathy's Chestnut Flour Chocolate Chunk Muffins

2 cups chestnut flour

3/4 to 1 cup coconut flour

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 eggs

1 stick butter, softened

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup dark chocolate chunks or morsels

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment whip the butter and brown sugar together at high speed for two minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until creamy. Add the vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add half the dry ingredients to the bowl with the butter mixture and mix slowly, add the milk, mix and then add the remaining dry ingredients until well incorporated. Add the chocolate chunks. Fill cupcake tins lined with muffin liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.