This recipe comes from Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking by Kelli and Peter Bronski. It called for their special GF flour mix, which is given in the first few pages of the book. If you are new to baking gluten free, then you will know that trying to find that perfect blend of flours is essential to baking gluten free.
The recipe also called for an alarming amount of butter. Maybe I just never baked before, because before the gluten free issues I didn't need to, or maybe you just need more butter in a gluten free recipe than you do in a gluten recipe. Whatever the case, after tasting the muffins, I think it is safe to say that sugar and butter can make just about anything taste good!
A really cool tip that the authors gave regarding the blueberries, was to coat them in GF flour mix to keep them from sinking to the bottom. I had never heard of that before. It worked really well.
The recipe also said that it would make 16 muffins. After I was through I made 24. But, I don't think I used enough blueberries. I used dehydrated blueberries from my mother's garden. I didn't have enough time to rehydrate them completely, so I ended up cooking them in the microwave in a bowl of water. They weren't crunchy any more, but they were still small. If I had used the suggested amount of blueberries, I would have had even more muffins. But maybe I was supposed to use a large muffin tin?
I should also note that I had made the GF Flour blend they suggest in the cook book a couple of weeks ago, so it was really easy to grab it and use it. When I made waffles I had to make the flour blend first. This was very difficult to do, especially since I had three hungry children waiting for waffles, 12 bags or random flours (from sorghum to millet) to sort through to find the right ones for this particular blend, and measuring and mixing on a small counter space. I am sad to say that they didn't get to eat until 10 am! So, I would strongly suggest having some ready to use flour blend in a gallon size baggy, ready to use at a moments notice.
Oh, and one other thing. The recipe called for half and half. I chose to use vanilla soy milk. I tried to think of the creamiest and yummiest milk substitute I could, and that was it. Almond and rice milk tend to have a more watered down texture. The soy milk is more creamy.
And now for the rating of the recipe:
*Difficulty: 4 our of 5 stars
This recipe was not too difficult, especially since I already had the flour blend ready to use. It wasn't the easiest thing I have ever made either though. But when all was said and down I didn't have too many dirty dishes to clean, and the muffins were well worth the effort.
*Time: 4 out of five stars
Again, it was pretty quick. Not the fastest thing I have ever made, but considering the taste, it was well worth the amount of time.
*Price per serving: 3 out of 5 stars
This was a tough one to rate, for a few reasons. First, I am new to GF baking. So I do not have anything to compare this too except foods I have baked previously (and usually I used a box mix). Second, I did not count the price for the blueberries in the cost, because I got them free. The whole batch of muffins cost $9.33. And let me tell you, that was HARD to figure out. I actually did all the math, and figured out each ingredient and how much it cost! Well, I impressed myself, anyway. So that makes each muffin cost $0.39. MUCH CHEAPER than buying a GF muffin from the store (I think I saw a batch and it was more than a dollar a muffin). Of course if I had to compare taste to those, the Udi's GF lemon muffins tasted a lot better too.
*OHA: 5 out of 5 stars
I was very happy when I discovered I had nearly everything I needed for this recipe already, and I did not need to pick up anything from the store.
*Yum Factor: 4 out of 5 stars
They were yummy! Of course, like I said, I have had better muffins. BUT, I wonder if I had put in fresh blueberries, if I would have liked them more. The crumble on the top was okay, but not to die for. When we ate them the next morning they were still pretty good. I put butter on mine. But it didn't need it. It was pretty moist, and the texture was excellent.
*Over All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I will definitely make this again, but I still am looking for that GF muffin that is to die for!
A really cool tip that the authors gave regarding the blueberries, was to coat them in GF flour mix to keep them from sinking to the bottom. I had never heard of that before. It worked really well.
The recipe also said that it would make 16 muffins. After I was through I made 24. But, I don't think I used enough blueberries. I used dehydrated blueberries from my mother's garden. I didn't have enough time to rehydrate them completely, so I ended up cooking them in the microwave in a bowl of water. They weren't crunchy any more, but they were still small. If I had used the suggested amount of blueberries, I would have had even more muffins. But maybe I was supposed to use a large muffin tin?
I should also note that I had made the GF Flour blend they suggest in the cook book a couple of weeks ago, so it was really easy to grab it and use it. When I made waffles I had to make the flour blend first. This was very difficult to do, especially since I had three hungry children waiting for waffles, 12 bags or random flours (from sorghum to millet) to sort through to find the right ones for this particular blend, and measuring and mixing on a small counter space. I am sad to say that they didn't get to eat until 10 am! So, I would strongly suggest having some ready to use flour blend in a gallon size baggy, ready to use at a moments notice.
Oh, and one other thing. The recipe called for half and half. I chose to use vanilla soy milk. I tried to think of the creamiest and yummiest milk substitute I could, and that was it. Almond and rice milk tend to have a more watered down texture. The soy milk is more creamy.
And now for the rating of the recipe:
*Difficulty: 4 our of 5 stars
This recipe was not too difficult, especially since I already had the flour blend ready to use. It wasn't the easiest thing I have ever made either though. But when all was said and down I didn't have too many dirty dishes to clean, and the muffins were well worth the effort.
*Time: 4 out of five stars
Again, it was pretty quick. Not the fastest thing I have ever made, but considering the taste, it was well worth the amount of time.
*Price per serving: 3 out of 5 stars
This was a tough one to rate, for a few reasons. First, I am new to GF baking. So I do not have anything to compare this too except foods I have baked previously (and usually I used a box mix). Second, I did not count the price for the blueberries in the cost, because I got them free. The whole batch of muffins cost $9.33. And let me tell you, that was HARD to figure out. I actually did all the math, and figured out each ingredient and how much it cost! Well, I impressed myself, anyway. So that makes each muffin cost $0.39. MUCH CHEAPER than buying a GF muffin from the store (I think I saw a batch and it was more than a dollar a muffin). Of course if I had to compare taste to those, the Udi's GF lemon muffins tasted a lot better too.
*OHA: 5 out of 5 stars
I was very happy when I discovered I had nearly everything I needed for this recipe already, and I did not need to pick up anything from the store.
*Yum Factor: 4 out of 5 stars
They were yummy! Of course, like I said, I have had better muffins. BUT, I wonder if I had put in fresh blueberries, if I would have liked them more. The crumble on the top was okay, but not to die for. When we ate them the next morning they were still pretty good. I put butter on mine. But it didn't need it. It was pretty moist, and the texture was excellent.
*Over All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I will definitely make this again, but I still am looking for that GF muffin that is to die for!
Looks yummy Katie. -LM
ReplyDeleteThey do look yummy & you look adorable making them. Love the mixer too! I like how you give so much detail. You rock the GF girl, fo real.
ReplyDelete