Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins
By Meaghen WalshPublished on June 28, 2016
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes resting
Yield
Makes 12 Muffins
Ingredients
Before You Begin
You can substitute an equal amount of fresh raspberries or chopped strawberries for the blueberries. Frozen berries, rinsed well and blotted dry with paper towels, will also work; however, the berries will bleed slightly into the batter. The xanthan gum can be omitted, but the muffins will be more crumbly, with slightly less structure, and they will be a little more difficult to get out of the pan. Do not shortchange the 30 minute rest for the batter; if you do, the muffins will be gritty.
Instructions
- Whisk flour blend, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and xanthan gum together in large bowl. In separate bowl, whisk granulated sugar, melted butter, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla together until well combined. Using rubber spatula, stir egg mixture into flour mixture until thoroughly combined and no lumps remain, about 1 minute. Gently fold in blueberries until evenly distributed (batter will be thick and stiff). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, portion batter evenly into prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top. Bake until muffins are golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 16 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let muffins cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. (Muffins are best eaten warm on day they are made, but they can be cooled, then immediately transferred to zipper-lock bag and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day. To serve, warm in 300-degree oven for 10 minutes. Muffins can also be wrapped individually in plastic wrap, transferred to zipper-lock bag, and frozen for up to 3 weeks. To serve, remove plastic and microwave muffin for 20 to 30 seconds, then warm in 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.)
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes restingYield
Makes 12 MuffinsIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Even the best traditional bakeshops often come up short when they attempt to make gluten-free muffins—the results are usually gritty, crumbly, and pale. We set out to make a golden-domed gluten-free muffin that also had a tender, delicate interior. To fix the grittiness, we found that resting the batter before baking hydrated the flour and softened its texture—but we had to be careful because the longer we let the batter sit, the more dense the muffins were and the less they rose. While we typically use two eggs in a muffin recipe, this thick batter needed three to achieve the proper richness and structure. For the liquid component, we were after something that would help create a moist crumb and also lend some flavor. A few tests with various dairy options proved plain whole-milk yogurt was the answer (you can use low-fat yogurt, but the muffins will be a little drier). Finally, sprinkling the muffins with turbinado sugar before they went into the oven helped create the browned tops we were after.
Before You Begin
You can substitute an equal amount of fresh raspberries or chopped strawberries for the blueberries. Frozen berries, rinsed well and blotted dry with paper towels, will also work; however, the berries will bleed slightly into the batter. The xanthan gum can be omitted, but the muffins will be more crumbly, with slightly less structure, and they will be a little more difficult to get out of the pan. Do not shortchange the 30 minute rest for the batter; if you do, the muffins will be gritty.
Instructions
- Whisk flour blend, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and xanthan gum together in large bowl. In separate bowl, whisk granulated sugar, melted butter, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla together until well combined. Using rubber spatula, stir egg mixture into flour mixture until thoroughly combined and no lumps remain, about 1 minute. Gently fold in blueberries until evenly distributed (batter will be thick and stiff). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, portion batter evenly into prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top. Bake until muffins are golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 16 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let muffins cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. (Muffins are best eaten warm on day they are made, but they can be cooled, then immediately transferred to zipper-lock bag and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day. To serve, warm in 300-degree oven for 10 minutes. Muffins can also be wrapped individually in plastic wrap, transferred to zipper-lock bag, and frozen for up to 3 weeks. To serve, remove plastic and microwave muffin for 20 to 30 seconds, then warm in 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.)
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