Neener's Almond Muffins (Gluten Free!)

Ok, so I am not entirely sure I have perfected this recipe but today I got pretty close so I decided to share it anyway. What's not perfect? They are a little less fluffy, a little more dense then I'd like them to be. This is an issue I run into repeatedly with gluten free baking. I suppose I should break down and buy an all-purpose gluten free flour but I have yet to find one that is either a) corn free as well, many of them use cornstarch, this means no xanthan gum as well, which is derived from corn or b) truly all-purpose. In my experimenting I've learned that what works well for breads doesn't always work well for cookies, and that mixing flours is always your best bet.  It's the ratio of what flours to use I am still working on. These muffins are gluten free, corn free, dairy free & can be egg free AND they are STILL yummy lol. I added any modifications after asterisks for those who may not need to use the "allergy option".

• 1/2c Almond meal
• 1/2c Sorghum Flour
• 1/2c Oat Flour
• 1/2c Rice Flour ******Note if you can have wheat just use 1 & 1/4c all purpose flour & 1/2c Almond meal
• 1 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda*****These two (CoT & BS) are in place of baking powder, which contains corn (I know, it's everywhere), if you don't need a corn free option 2 tsps baking powder will work!
• 1/3-1/2c sugar*****I don't eat much sugar at all these days so I like them to be a little sweeter (still not too sweet with 1/2c) and don't feel too guilty about it. You can also use Stevia but I haven't tried so you're on your own there :)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp Guar Gum****Xantham Gum if you want, or if you use regular all-purpose flour omit this all together, it already has a binder. 
• 1 egg****If you need to go egg free, try 1 TBSP flax meal in 3 TBSP hot water, let sit for 10 mins add in just like you would an egg!
• 1/4 c Cooking oil 
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3/4c Almond milk******Again if you don't have to go dairy free, regular milk works. I like using almond milk anyway, even though I can have dairy, because it accents the flavor of the muffins. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put all dry ingredients together in a bowl; flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, guar gum, salt, set aside, mix well and set aside. In separate bowl add milk, oil and beaten egg, mix together. Make a small well in the center of your dry ingredients and pour liquids into it. Using a mixing spoon, stir all ingredients together until well blended. The flour will look pretty moist. Using a pre-greased muffin pan pour batter into muffin spots (what is the technical name for those?) until they are 3/4 full. Bake for 12-18 mins, depending on your oven. Remove when done, allow to cool for a few minutes before removing them & enjoy!!

These are not super sweet, dessert type muffins, they are definitely more of a breakfast muffin. I really like making them because they have some protein to them thanks to the almonds, they are great snacks!! Please let me know if you try them out, I am open to ideas! In fact, I think next I am going to try using Tapioca flour (or starch as it's sometimes called) in place of the rice flour and omit the binder. I often forger the binding agent so my muffins can be crumbly, I was thinking maybe the tapioca flour might bind it together ok so those times (cough everytime lol) I forget to use the guar gum they won't fall apart. I'll let you know!