Thank goodness for frozen blueberries!
Summer has left but luckily blueberries stay! I had been itching to post this sooner when blueberries were still in season... but after the recipe I made up one fine evening
came out so well, I decided to test it again... and again... and again, each time changing an ingredient slightly. But each time delicious gluten-free blueberry muffins kept coming out of the oven! So many muffins were made and eaten (and enjoyed!) before this post that I think I can confidently say: it is a winner!
So it all starts of course with blueberries, and all of the other usual suspects: eggs, some type of flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, some type of vegetable oil, some type of milk, some type of sweetener.
The first step is to whisk two eggs at full speed with some salt (I used Himalayan salt) for a good few (5) minutes. The eggs need to be really fluffy and pale.
The next step is to add, at low speed: 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup liquid sweetener, 1 tsp vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, the flours totaling to 1c and 1/4, 1/2tsp baking soda and 1tsp baking powder are combined, then added, still at low speed, to the wet mixture. Finally, 1/4 cup milk is blended in. The blueberries, slightly defrosted in the microwave (using "soften" function for 1' or at room temperature) are gently folded in to complete the batter.
So that was the "blueprint" part. For specifics, this is what I have tried and think works really well:
- Vegetable oil: 1/8c canola oil, 1/8c walnut oil + Sweetener: 1/4c maple syrup + Flours: 3/4c brown rice flour or 1/2c brown rice flour + 1/4c teff flour (gives a nuttier flavor), 1/4c (home ground) almond meal, 1/4c arrow root + Milk: 1/4c almond milk
- Vegetable oil: 1/8c canola oil, 1/8c toasted hazelnut oil + Sweetener: 1/4c maple syrup + Flours: 3/4c amaranth flour, 1/4c (home ground) almond meal, 1/4c arrow root + Milk: 1/8c almond milk + 1/8c coconut milk (and some orange zest might add an interesting touch)
Once the batter is made, it fills a 6 muffins pan. The batter needs to bake 25-30' at 375F, until muffins are golden (or using the usual "knife tip-inserted-in-muffin-comes-out-clean" method).
Once cooled for 5', the muffins can be removed from the pan. And the final step is of course to eat them... again... and again :-)
By the way:
- I might be re-inventing the wheel unknowingly but I was not following any particular recipe when I started making these muffins...
- With the ingredients suggested in this post, the muffins will be dairy-free, gluten-free and low in FODMAP!