Gluten-free Any Fruit Muffins

I’ve been eating gluten-free for a little while to see if it might make any difference to my Hashimoto’s Hypothyroid condition. (I’m not yet sure if it has ) Inflammation is a big part of Hashimoto’s and gluten is a known cause of inflammation for many diseases so I thought I would give it a try.  If nothing else it has forced me to really take a look at what I eat.  I’ve also cut back on sugar and added more fruits and vegetables into our meals.  That in itself is a good thing regardless of the gluten issue.  I’m also allergic to eggs, so I substitute a flax seed slurry most of the time for eggs.

An adaptation of this rhubarb muffin recipe from Gluten-Free Girl was the beginning. Then, a few times I either had ingredients I needed to get rid of or I was out of ingredients that forced more experimentation. And let me just add that once you cut back on sugar, everything suddenly seems WAY too sweet. So if you are used to eating sugar, then these muffins will taste bland to you.  Also, I forgot to sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top this time. It just adds a little crunchy zing to the muffins.

Other adaptations I made… I replaced the eggs with a flax seed slurry… 1 part ground flax seed & 3 parts warm water mixed until thickened. I usually grind 1/4 cup flax seeds, add 3/4 cup warm water and store in the fridge for muffins, pancakes and other things.  Then one day I had some older jam in the fridge and I wasn’t enjoying it any more. So I left out the sugar and just added the jam for sweetener.  The muffins were definitely less sweet than the original recipe, but I’m beginning to like having less sugar in everything. And when I do end up having a bite of something with sugar it tastes unreasonably sweet. One time we were at a coffee shop and I found a gluten-free oat bar. Wow! Really sweet!

Then I decided to try out different kinds of fruit. I originally made rhubarb muffins like the original recipe because it was in season. Then raspberries came along.  And now blueberries are a good price in the grocery store. I have loved every variation. You can match the jam flavor to the fruit you use.  Or not. Either way it is good.

And now that you think I’m completely crazy… here’s my version of the recipe…

Gluten-Free Any Fruit Muffins
– makes 12 muffins

280 grams (about 2 cups) all-purpose gluten-free flour ( I have found that the rice & bean flours make a more grainy texture & have started mixing my own flour blend based on Gluten-Free Girls’ 70% flour, 30% starch ratio at the end of her muffin post)
140 grams (about 1 cup) teff flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp guar gum
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs (or 2 tbsp flax seed slurry)
1 cup sour cream or yogurt
1/2 cup jam
1  cup fruit
Turbinado raw sugar to sprinkle on the top

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

3. Combine all the wet ingredients in a small bowl.

4.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until blended.

5. Fold in the fruit of choice.

6. Scoop into a muffin tin. You really don’t need the muffin papers unless you have messy fruit. I like using them for raspberries & blueberries. But the dough is rather stiff and doesn’t seem to stick much so the papers aren’t really needed.

7. Bake the muffins for 22-25 minutes or until done.  They should feel a bit firm to the touch.

8. Cool, then eat or freeze. I freeze them for future afternoon snacks.

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