Muffin of the Week: Lemon Blueberry

Happy Monday, friends!


It has been much cooler in the Carolinas the last couple of days, so I have had the windows open to air out the house!  I can not even begin to describe the fresh smells that have wafted through my kitchen in the early hours of this morning....it was enough to inspire this week's muffin of the week choice.........


Lemon Blueberry!!!!

I wrote this recipe originally when I was fresh out of high school....back when gluten was still a friend of mine.  So, this morning, I made the adjustments to adapt it to hold up in the challenges that the gluten free aspects can throw in the mix of things.  It can now be made either way and turn out fabulously, but for those gluten free folks reading.....this is a muffin that will make you feel like a normal human being again.  I have been eating gluten free for over two years now, and I have yet to taste a muffin that was this undetectable.  We are talking all of the fluffy, flavorful magic that just needs to be involved in a blueberry muffin.  If you are that person that is longing for a recipe to make you forget that you are on a GF diet; I KNOW that this recipe will bless your week! 

Before you get started, I do want to give you a heads up that this is a four phase recipe.  Most of the muffin recipes that I write are a three phase.  Like so:  1) Mix dry ingredients. 2)  Mix wet ingredients 3) Combine and add mix ins.  However this one has an extra pre-phase that is important to get started at the very beginning so that it has time to set.  The step is mixing the milk with vinegar and lemon juice and leaving it to curdle.  This simulates the buttermilk flavor and effect that just makes this recipe absolutely everything.  I actually use a lactose free dairy milk instead of a dairy free option for this very reason. 

Also, to get the right texture for this recipe, make sure that you whisk the dry ingredients thoroughly until you get a fluffy sifted texture.  This is huge in getting your muffins to rise properly!  It is my little cheat to avoid actually getting out the sifter and spending ten minutes running the flour through it.  Let's be honest...no one has time for that. :)

Without further adieu, here is this week's muffin...............................

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Gluten Free, Soy Free
Prep time: 10-15 Minutes
Total time: 30 Minutes
Makes: 12 Muffins

Wet Ingredients Phase 1: 
Note: Mix these ingredients first and set aside to set while you make the rest of the recipe
1 cup milk
1 TBS white vinegar 
1/2 cup lemon juice

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (regular or King Arthur All Purpose Gluten Free Flour)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Optional: 1 tsp lemon zest

Wet Ingredient Phase 2:
2/3 cup oil (canola or grapeseed)
2 tsp natural lemon flavoring
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

Add-In Ingredients:
Approx. 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray muffin pan and set aside.
  2. Mix the phase one wet ingredients: milk, vinegar, & lemon juice and move to the side to set.
  3. Whisk together thoroughly all dry ingredients: flour, white sugar, salt, baking powder, & baking soda.  Zest lemon and add to the mix if desired.  
  4. In a separate bowl, beat together phase two wet ingredients: oil, lemon flavoring, vanilla extract, eggs.  Add in phase one wet ingredients, blend together, and then pour all wet ingredients into dry mixture while whisking.  Be careful not to over mix.
  5. Fold in blueberries
  6. Moving quickly, fill muffin cups to the top. 
  7. Bake 13-15 minutes
Enjoy! 

I used the Happy Home Natural Lemon Flavoring in these muffins.  I love to shop locally and there is the cutest little farmer's market a stone's throw from my house called Dink's Produce. It is run by one of the sweetest married couples that you will ever meet, and they have some awesome finds there.....like this lemon flavoring!  

May you have a wonderfully blessed week as you overcome the challenges of the new schedules that the school brings upon all of us.  If you are in the Carolinas, I know that it will get warmer later this week, but for now, let that fresh cool air soothe your soul, inspire your mind, and give you the refresh you need.  If you are in for as crazy as a Monday as I am headed into, it is going to be a wild one!  For me it is writing in the morning, folding the loads of laundry that have been sitting on my couch all weekend, hitting the gym, heading to the office, then three overlapping events that my husband and I need to hit after work. It's bound to be a very fulfilling day!  After all, life is a beautiful adventure and I get to go live it!

Happy Pilgrimming!

Destiny





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