Blueberry Muffins (Gluten Free)

Blueberry muffins really have not been my favorite muffin variety. Nothing against them, but I usually would rather eat a more exciting muffin.... Actually, raisin bran muffins are typically my favorite.  Or pumpkin. And most often, I’d rather eat a scone than a muffin.  But I recently developed a craving for muffins. Specifically, blueberry muffins.

Blueberries themselves are one of my very favorite fruits.  I’ll sit and eat an entire container of them until they’re gone--perfect summertime meal or snack.  Most often, fresh blueberries get eaten before they can be used in baked goods.  But when I saw blueberries on a fantastic sale at the grocery store, I bought two packages: one for eating and one for muffins.

On my birthday last year, I made confetti cake waffles for breakfast.  While they were amazingly delicious, they also were so rich that the practically put me into a sugar coma for the rest of the day.  This year, instead, I decided to satisfy the craving and make blueberry muffins.

I found found an intriguing recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks (which shall remain nameless).  I was very interested in the recipe because it included a good amount of pecan flour (and I just happened to have pecan flour in the freezer).

I gathered the necessary ingredients (mis-en-place) and mixed the batter.  It seemed quite a bit thicker than I thought a muffin recipe should be.  I double checked the ingredients & no, I hadn’t forgotten anything or mis-measured.  So, I added a splash more milk. I portioned the the still-thick-batter into the lined muffin pan.  I baked the muffins.

When I pulled them from the oven, I could immediately tell there was a flaw in the recipe.  The muffins failed to spread or puff at all.  They looked pretty terrible & they didn’t taste great either.  Fail.  Even sadder, birthday fail :( And, I was STILL craving blueberry muffins!

Since then, I’ve searched through many additional recipes, searching for the perfect “redemption muffin” recipe.  And I think I’ve found it.  A slightly sweet, slightly caky muffin, bursting with blueberries.  The flavor and fragrance from the addition of almond extract is a lovely touch too.

The original recipe includes an almond streusel topping, but I didn’t have enough butter on hand to make it.  Honestly, I didn’t miss the streusel one bit! Shock--usually I’m a huge streusel fan! The muffin was delicious without it. Blueberry muffin redemption has been found!  I may have eaten three of them for breakfast that day....

Blueberry Muffins (adapted to be gluten free) 
adapted from Williams Sonoma Taste
Yields 9 muffins

157 g Gluten Free Flour (I used my favorite blend; or if you’re not GF, use regular AP flour) 
78 g Granulated Sugar
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Fine Grain Sea Salt
pinch Nutmeg, freshly grated 

4 fl oz Buttermilk
1 ea Eggs
38 g Unsalted Butter, melted & slightly cooled
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
scant 1/4 tsp Almond Extract

110 g Blueberries, fresh (plus a little extra, if desired) 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a muffin pan with 9 papers. Optional: lightly spray the bottoms of the liners with non-stick spray. 
2. If not already done, heat the butter in the microwave until just barely melted.  Set aside to cool slightly while gathering the remaining ingredients. 
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Measure the buttermilk into a liquid measuring cup.  To that cup, add the egg, butter, & extract.  Gently whisk to combine.  
4. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients.  Stir half-way and add the blueberries.  Very gently stir until combined, trying not to smash the blueberries in the progress.  
5. Use a portion scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups.  If you notice the bottom of the batter is low on blueberries, throw in a few extras
6. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin (and not into a blueberry) comes out almost clean with just a few crumbs sticking to it.  
7. Cool slightly and serve.  Store any cooled leftovers in an airtight container for a day, or in the refrigerator for several days (due to the fruit content).  

Note: You can substitute frozen blueberries for the fresh ones.  Just add them to the batter frozen (even frozen they may dye the batter a bit blue) and increase the baking time by a few minutes.