Sweet Potato ‘n Five~Spice Muffins
 
Cook time
Total time
 
Ingredients
  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 3/4 cup good-quality maple syrup or xylitol, plus 2 extra tablespoons for brushing the muffins
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups gluten-free flour (if the flour doesn’t include xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick the sweet potato a few times with a paring knife or fork. Bake until soft (when a paring knife can cut through with zero resistance), about 1 hour. Set the sweet potato aside until it’s completely cool.
  2. Peel the sweet potato, discard the skin and mash the flesh in a mixing bowl with a fork. Whisk the olive oil, almond milk, maple syrup or xylitol, and vanilla into the sweet potato. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, five-spice powder and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  3. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or silpat liners and evenly distribute the muffin batter among the cups.
  4. Bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean, brushing the tops with extra maple syrup during the last 5 minutes of baking. Let the muffins cool before serving.
Notes

Here's the thing, make your sweet potatoes for dinner the night before and use one that's leftover.. it will save you time.
Also, I experimented with a new gluten-free flour called Cup4Cup. It's an outstanding product that works just like flour and doesn't require any additional ingredients. However, I found the cost quite prohibitive, $20-25 for one small bag!
I used maple syrup, not xylitol and I used 1% milk instead of almond milk with excellent results.
I have a hot convection oven so mine were baked at 375C.

By Gwyneth Paltrow
Adapted from It's All Good
Recipe by Just a Smidgen at https://justasmidgen.com/2013/08/22/5-spice-sweet-potato-muffins/