Sunshine + Lemon
Caught in the grey flannel mood and wet patter of a rainy spring day, what’s a Gluten-Free Goddess to do? Why, bake, of course. (The calorie-stingy- but oh-so-delicious!- detox soup recipe will still be there tomorrow, in all it’s green and virtuous glory, don’t you worry.)
When the wacky winds howl like Banshees on the headlands and rain (or snow!) flies sideways as sharp as an art/music/film/literary critic’s those-who-can’t-do-criticize sarcasm, I wrote this recipe hunkered down in our humble abode, praying to the Power Gods that the electricity will hold. I pulled on flannel layers worthy of an L. L. Bean catalog and cranked up the oven.
Baking lemon-blueberry muffins, then, accomplishes two things.
It warms us twice.
Body and soul.
Karina’s Gluten-Free Lemon-Blueberry Muffin Recipe
These bright, lemony muffins have a touch of flax seed meal for added fiber and virtuous all-around goodness. We bake dairy-free, so we used Earth Balance Sticks for our butter. But if you prefer your full on dairy moo-cow butter, Baby, go right ahead. It’ll be delicious!
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch (not potato flour) or tapioca starch
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum or gelatin
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup Earth Balance Stick or butter
3 large free-range organic eggs, beaten
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon good vanilla extrac
Fresh lemon zest from one (washed!) lemon
1 1/2 cups organic frozen blueberries, patted dry, but still frozen
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-muffin pan with paper liners.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, potato starch, flaxseed meal, brown sugar, cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and sea salt.
Add in the Earth Balance Stick by pieces and mix until crumbly.
Add in the eggs, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon zest; beat to combine. Continue beating for 2 minutes until the batter is smooth and moist. (If by some chance- egg sizes vary- the batter is too dry or stiff, add a tablespoon of non-dairy/dairy milk, as needed.)
Stir in the blueberries by hand. Using a spoon, drop the batter into the 12 muffin cups and smooth out tops with wet fingers. Or leave bumpy, if you prefer.
Bake in the center of the oven for 22-25 minutes, until golden and firm to a light touch. Insert a cake tester to make sure the centers are cooked through.
TIP* Cover the muffin pan loosely with a piece of foil for the last eight to five minutes of baking to keep the tops from browning too much- especially if the blueberries are frozen, chilling down the batter.
Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire rack for five minutes, then turn out the muffins to continue cooling on the rack (this avoids soggy bottoms!).
These are lovely eaten warm from the oven with a brisk cup of organic black tea.
Wrap, bag, and freeze leftover muffins for future on-the-go treats.
Makes 1 dozen muffins.
Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
