Bakery style gluten-free blueberry muffins! The lemon sugar topping gives them a bright, crisp muffin top, and the interior is tender and bursting with blueberry flavour. Pair with a cup of coffee for the perfect lazy weekend morning!
½cupgranulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for topping
1cupgluten-free flour, all-purpose blend (see note)
½cupalmond flour
1teaspoonbaking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
¼teaspoonsalt
1egg, extra-large
¼cupvegetable or canola oil
¼cupgreek yogurt
¼cupmilk, see note
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1teaspoonlemon zest
2teaspoonlemon juice
¾cupblueberries
2tablespoonblueberry fruit spread or jam
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a muffin tin with 6 paper liners or grease with vegetable oil.
In large bowl, combine ½ cup of the sugar, gluten-free flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, milk, vanilla and lemon juice. Combine the egg mixture with the flour mixture and stir until combined.
Spoon one tablespoon of batter into the bottom of each muffin cup.
Stir ½ cup of the blueberries into the blueberry jam, coating the blueberries in the jam.
Gently fold the coated blueberries into the muffin batter. Do not over mix, otherwise the batter will turn purple. Divide the batter equally among the 6 muffin cups. Top each muffin with the remaining blueberries.
Mix the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar with the lemon zest. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with the lemon sugar.
Bake for about 25 – 28 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool slightly in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Note: use a blend that contains xanthan gum, so the muffins have enough structure and stability. Make sure your blend doesn’t contain any ingredients with strong flavours, such as bean flour. If using a blend with a higher starch content, add an additional 2 tablespoons of milk. See Baking with Gluten-Free Flour for more information. Top Tips
Mix well – if you’re used to making muffins with wheat flour, you probably fear over mixing your muffin batter. But with gluten-free muffins, you don’t have to worry about over mixing the same way. If anything, the real risk is under mixing. Gluten-free flours don’t absorb liquids as quickly as wheat flour, so you need to give your batter a really good stir to make sure everything is really incorporated. And since there’s no gluten, you don’t have to worry about overworking the gluten strands which is what can make traditional muffins tough. If anything, gluten-free muffins benefit from the added structure well-mixed batter provides. Just don’t over mix after you’ve added the blueberries, or else you’ll end up with purple muffins!
Serve warm – I find these muffins are best served warm. To retain a crisp muffin top, reheat in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Substitutions
Swap out the blueberries for other berries to switch things up. Raspberries or blackberries, or a combination of mixed berries, will all work well in these.
Storage
Baked muffins: 2 – 3 days in an air-tight container at room temperature. Reheat in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Freeze: the baked muffins also freeze well – store well wrapped in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 1 month. To serve, thaw in a microwave for 20 seconds on high, and then warm in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 10 minutes.