Sunday, May 30, 2010

Heavenly Muffins



Since starting the GFCF diet breakfast has been kinda boring. It is my fault I will admit. I did not want to bite the bullet and spend a lot of money on flours I did not think I would use.

After reading The GF Gourmet by Bette Hagman, I have had a renewed thought on this! Her recipes sound so easy and less daunting than several of the cookbooks I have recently read. I love how she says "oh you can just use rice flour here and there instead 5 or 6 different flours combined for the same outcome!" Options, I need options when it is 7am and the youngest girl leaves for school in an hour!

My first adventure was muffins. The recipe looked simple enough. So I gave it the old college try. I must tell you these were melt in your mouth delish! The texture was light and fluffy. I tucked a large blackberry in the center of each muffin. The youngest said it was a surprise in the center like a toosie pop! You can use any type of berry but bare in mind these do not rise very high so do not over load them too much. :0)

Quick and Easy Muffins
Bette Hagman note: These come out best when mixed by hand with a mixing spoon. Do not over stir, batter will become tough.

1/4 C sugar
2 Tbsp shortening
2 eggs
1 C rice flour
1/4 tsp salt,
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C almond milk or alternative
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp berries of choice-fresh or frozen (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the mixing bowl, cream together sugar and shortening. Then beat in eggs. Sift together the flour, salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder. Add to the egg mixture alternately with the milk. DO NOT over beat. Stir in the vanilla. Gently add berries.
Pour into greased or paper lined muffin cups. Bake for 20 mins. Makes 8 muffins.

Please note: I used brown rice flour when I made this recipe.

** As a time saver, you can mix the dry ingredients ahead of time. Place in mason jars or Ziploc bags. I prefer to reuse mason jars and such since a plastic bag will stay at the dump for over 400 yrs! When ready, add your wet ingredients to the mix~cutting your prep time in half.
Xanthan Gum and certain flours will go rancid quickly. After living in WV I have experienced HOT humid summers. This kind of weather if not careful can lead to bugs hatching. Make sure to keep your flours, mixes as well as xanthan gum in the freezer to extend the shelf life.

Happy Baking!
Blair

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