Nutty Coconut Cupcakes [ Gluten Free + Higher Protein ]

This is a sponsored post by Fairlife but all thoughts, opinions and words are 110% my own as per usual.

A few weeks ago I made some amazing gluten free, higher protein cupcakes using coconut flour, almond flour and Fairlife high protein milk.

How can I be so bold in calling them amazing? Well, I had many taste-testers as I brought them to Mellissa‘s house two days in a row and everyone LOVED them. One gal said they reminded her of something her grandma used to make. If that isn’t a compliment…I’m not sure what is!

[You’d think I hang out with that girl (Mellissa) all the time with how much I blog about our shenanigans, but it must just be because we tend to have a good time together. Or eat delicious foods together.]

These cupcakes were quite an experiment for me since it was my very first time baking with coconut flour. I’ve baked a number of times with almond flour, but coconut flour has always intimidated me since I have heard numerous times how difficult it is to bake with. [<-I end sentences with prepositions all the time. That’s how we talk though, right??]

I thought I would share not only the recipe, but some fun facts I have learned along the path to creating semi-healthy desserts. My thought process on semi-healthy desserts is that I like to both enjoy the dessert (read: it MUST taste good! what is the point if it tastes like cardboard??) and benefit in some way nutritionally. I won’t lie–sometimes I call chocolate nutritional because of the antioxidants, but more frequently I add nuts, substitute whole grains for the bleached flours and sometimes play around with substitutions for the fats.

I am by no means an expert on the subject of gluten free baking, but I can share with you some facts and tips I have learned along the way!

 

Stuff to Know About Coconut Flour:

• Coconut flour is pretty much just the fiber taken from the coconut “meat” after most of the oil is taken out to make coconut oil. 
• High fiber. 
• High protein.
• When used in baked goods, it tends to make things puffy.
• You can substitute with regular flour cup-for-cup BUT I wouldn’t substitute more than 1/3 of the flour. 

Stuff to Know About Almond Flour:

• Almond flour is simply ground up almonds. Sometimes the skin is taken off and it results in a finer flour. I bake with either.
• High protein.
• All of the benefits of almonds such as vitamin E (great for your skin, hair and nails), and a surprising amount of calcium.
• You can substitute cup for cup but it will be a slightly different texture. Like how cornbread has that meal-y texture. It was delightful as the only flour in my Almond Delight Cookies so I’m not opposed to using only almond flour.

Stuff to Know About Fairlife High Protein Milk:

 

• 50% more protein and calcium than regular milk. Fairlife milk is high protein, but doesn’t add any protein powders, etc to get that boost. I like to think it’s because their cows are happy.
• 50% less sugar than regular milk. Yep.
• The taste is amazing despite the fact that it is basically healthier than regular milk. I would also point to the happy cows, but also Fairlife’s awesome filtration system.
• Simply use as you would regular milk with the added benefits of deliciousness and a boost in protein and calcium!
• You can check to see if Fairlife is in your area here.

Put all of these things together and you have one…

Nutty [ gluten free ] Coconut Cupcake.

The texture is almost that of a cornbread except nutty and sweeter. And you better believe it tastes decadent and buttery.

Since I’ve already taken them to a couple of gatherings, it’s safe to say these would be a perfect dessert for any upcoming shindigs…such as a 4th of July party! Can anyone else believe that the 4th of July is this week??

They are tasty as-is but you can always add toppings. Add some blueberries and strawberries on top of the whipped cream and you have a festive 4th of July treat! Of course I forgot to save the fruit for the photo shoot. 

I also managed to sit on one of the cupcakes during the shoot. Does anyone remember that from Instagram?

Well, in our one bedroom apartment, the best lighting happens to be in our bedroom. I set one of the cupcakes on the bed and forgot about it until I was trying to get the perfect shot. [cupcake butt!] Good thing there wasn’t any frosting or whipped cream on that one!!

I suppose I will also share the healthy [er] gluten free cupcake recipe with you now.

 

Hopefully you learned a little something! Or at least you got to laugh at me! 😉

[Tweet “Nutty Coconut Cupcakes with @fairlife #protein #calcium #gf””]

Be sure to check back this week for an exciting giveaway AND the Did You Know link-up which is on Thursday this month due to Independence Day (featuring post about fitness, nutrition and health topics the first Friday of each month)!

 

Tell me….

Have you baked with coconut flour? What was the result? 

 

PS I’m all about Pinterest this year, so I would LOVE IT if you could pin one (or two!) of these images. Use the handy dandy buttons at the bottom and top of each post to display the whole list of pins. If there is a link below the image, make sure to use that link to pin.

Also follow me so I can check out YOUR Pinterest account! 🙂
Follow SemiHealthNut

Stay in the loop with bloglovin’!

 

Linking up to:

Marvelous in my Monday with Katie at Healthy Diva Life

Show and Share Wednesday with Kelly at Mostly Homemade Mom 

Thinking Out Loud with Amanda at Running with Spoons

Treat Yourself Tuesday with Becky at Olives n Wine

Tasty Tuesdays with Anyonita Nibbles

Share Your Stuff Tuesdays with Erin at Table for Seven

 

Note: I’m now showing nutrition information on recipes for the time being. Since older recipes didn’t have the nutritional information, they might show the info for the entire recipe instead of say one individual cookie. Don’t worry. One cookie cannot contain 1000+ calories. 😉