Craving Low Fodmap Blueberry Muffins
Today I want low fodmap blueberry muffins desperately, but not just any blueberry muffins. No, they must have a fluffy crumb, be divinely sweet and contain plump, sweet blueberries. Before going GF, I could whip up such a muffin while doing six other things at once and they would still come out golden brown, fluffy, sweet and delicious. Oh how wrong I was, trying to do the same using GF flour. Even when I painstakingly followed the directions, my muffin often would be flat, undercooked, too dry or pasty. Aaaagh.
Can GF Flour Ever Be as Good as Non-GF Flour
I have now discovered that King Arthur Measure for Measure GF flour gives me the best results. It IS pricey, but it gives great return for what it costs. (At 81, do I even have time to learn the ins and outs of GF flour? lol). I do know that this KA flour delivers a delicious blueberry muffin that is worth the expense any day.
Using Olive Oil Instead of Canola
I am using a low fodmap GF recipe for raspberry muffins, but I use frozen blueberries instead of frozen raspberries, and mild olive oil (Filippo Berio) for their canola oil. For those who want a lemon blueberry muffin, you can add 1 tsp of lemon zest to the batter when you fold in the blueberries and you can add lemon extract as well if you want a more lemony flavor. Those are the only changes I dare make without messing with the baking outcome of the muffin.
The ingredients are divided into two separate bowls, one for dry ingredients and the other for wet. The directions say to whisk the dry ingredients together and to make a well in the center. I feel like I am helping my granny make pasta. ha ha.
Then the wet ingredients are whisked together and poured into the well. Finally, the wet ingredients are combined with the dry until everything is well mixed. I use a spatula to scrape down the bowl and make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated and then I mix it all together with a large wooden spoon. Finally, I fold in the sugared blueberries making sure they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
This recipe makes fourteen low fodmap blueberry muffins. So use one 12 cup tin and 2 wells from one six cup tin. Line the wells with paper liners. Place 3 or 4 blueberries at the bottom of each well and then cover them with 1/4 cup batter. Then place the tins in a preheated 375 degree oven. (If your muffin tins are dark colored, reduce the heat to 350°. Dark muffin tins cook faster and bake unevenly at too high a temp.)
Bake the muffins for 20 minutes or until they are lightly golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when plunged in the center of several muffins. After leaving them in the tin on a cooling rack for five minutes, remove them from the tins to the cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes.
Can You Freeze GF Muffins?
Yes, you certainly can. After cooling them, place the cooling rack, with the muffins still on top, into the freezer. After they are frozen, place them in a large plastic bag and keep them in the freezer until you want to serve them. These muffins are so good I have to control myself from snacking on them all day long!
Possible Issues
While the KA recipe says you have to beat the batter in a mixer, you can just thoroughly fold the wet batter into the dry batter using a spatula and then a wooden spoon until all is incorporated.
Also, be sure to fold in the blueberries until they seem evenly distributed throughout the batter.
This recipe works for me. The muffins rise with rounded, plump tops that turn golden brown and cool without falling. Best of all, they really do taste delicious.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups King Arthur GF Measure for Measure Flour (or other GF AP Flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup lactose free milk (or favorite alternative milk )
1/4 cup olive oil, mild (I use Filippo Berio) or canola oil
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 cup frozen blueberries, sugared with 1/8 cup sugar
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin and a six cup tin with a total of 14 paper liners. If your muffin tins are dark non-stick pans, reduce the oven temperature to 350 °. Why? Because dark pans bake faster and need to be reduced 25° in order to bake as evenly as light colored pans.
In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Whisk with a whisk until the ingredients are well incorporated.
Make a well in the dry ingredients by pushing the dry ingredients to the outside until an empty circle forms in the center of the bowl. That circle is the “well” or space where you will pour the wet ingredients. Set aside.
Into a medium bowl, place all the wet ingredients: egg, oil, milk and vanilla. Next, whip the egg with a fork until it is blended and slightly frothy. Using a wire whip, whisk in the cup of milk, the oil and the vanilla until all the wet ingredients are well blended.
Then, pour the wet ingredients into the well in the larger bowl. Slowly add in the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon or whisk. After all the dry ingredients have been incorporated, use a rubber spatula to scrape around and under the batter to make sure everything is nicely moistened. Set aside.
I like to place a few of the sugared blueberries into each cup of the muffin tin. Then add 1/4 cup of batter on top of the berries in each cup of the muffin tin.
Place the muffin tin into the oven and set the timer for 20 to 25 minutes. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center of a muffin.
It’s important to Leave in tin for 5 minutes. Then remove muffins from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Serve with butter and jam or ice them with vanilla icing or whipped cream.
These muffins freeze well and when heated for 25 seconds in a microwave, they taste as fresh and fruity as the day you made them.
Low Fodmap Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups KA Measure for Measure GF FLour or the equivalent
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 cup lactose free milk or other alternative milk
- 1/4 cup mild olive oil or canola oil
- 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries, sugared with 1/8 cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. If your tins are dark non-stick pans, reduce the heat by 25 degrees to 350 degrees. Why? Dark pans bake faster and unevenly at the same temp as light pans. Reducing the temp by 25 degrees results in evenly baked muffins.Line 14 muffin tin wells with liners. (I use a 12 cup muffin pan and a 6 cup muffin pan for this.)
- In a large bowl place the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Whisk with a whisk until well mixed. Make a well for the wet ingredients in the center of the bowl .
- In a medium bowl place the egg, oil, milk and vanilla. In a small bowl place the frozen blueberries and sprinkle them with 1/8 cup of sugar. Toss them around in the sugar until all are coated with sugar.
- Whisk the wet ingredients until they are all mixed together. Make sure the egg is mixed in well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix them all together using a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides of the bowl until no flour is stuck to the sides or bottom of the bowl. Then, using a large wooden spoon, mix the batter until the dry and wet ingredients are well mixed.
- Fold in the blueberries making sure they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Using a 1/4 cup measure or small cookie scoop, place batter into each liner until 3/4 filled. Let muffin tins rest on the counter for 5 minutes.
- Then place the muffin tins into the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 375 or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center of several muffins. The tops should be light golden brown.
- Cool the muffins in the tins for five minutes. Then remove them from the tins and place them on a cooling rack until cool. You may freeze them on the rack and then, when frozen, place them in large plastic freezer bags and freeze for several months. And there you have it. Low Fodmap blueberry muffins!
