Blueberry Muffins

We are experiencing our first real heat wave of the season....it brought back memories of summer Sunday mornings - visiting the farmer's market and blueberry muffin experiments. As I've mentioned, I'm on a quest to create the ultimate blueberry muffin. Michele was kind enough not to turn me away when I kept showing up on her front porch with yet more blueberry muffins week after week, all summer long! So while it's not blueberry season, and my blueberries from last summer are long gone, I couldn't resist indulging in my favorite breakfast treat (and I made it to the farmer's market in time to score last bunch of asparagus!).

This recipe is the winner from last summer. In spite of the extra dishes, grinding up almonds fresh, instead of using almond flour, gives these muffins excellent texture. With the nuts, seeds, and teff, they hang with you for awhile, but aren't so heavy that you can only eat one! And one more warning - if you love the really sweet bakery type of muffin, this is not it! You'll want to add more sweetner and perhaps a crumb topping if you really want a treat. As is, these muffins make a tasty, nutritious, kid-approved breakfast or snack! Just a heads up, this recipe only makes between 6-8 muffins, depending on how big the blueberries are and how big you make your muffins. This can be a good thing for some people, but if you are wanting to share, you might want to double the recipe. Stay tuned for this summer's latest creations....

1/2 cup spelt flour

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/2 cup teff flour

2 T agave or 1/4 cup turbinado (or more to taste)

2 handfuls of seeds (I prefer one handful of pumpkin, one of sunflower, but sometimes I'll just use one or the other)

3/4 tsp sea salt

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup milk of your choice (I prefer almond myself but any kind will do)

1/4 cup safflower or grape seed oil

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all the above ingredients and mix until well-combined. Depending on the size of your berries and how many you want, I would say you probably will need between 3/4 - 1 cup of blueberries. It is especially important not to stir them in until everything else is well-combined if you're using frozen berries, or your dough will look very interesting! Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake 25-30 minutes.

For me, nothing is better than a warm muffin with melty butter....Earth Balance is my topping of choice for muffins. I've tried using hazelnut oil, flax oil, and even olive oil in attempts to be healthier, but I've decided not to mess with my muffins! Once they've cooled, I don't care, but when they're warm....EB it is! I also enjoy a nice cold glass of almond milk to go with them. To make it a more complete breakfast, I will either precede it with a good smoothie or enjoy some tofu scrambler on the side.

Let me know what you think! In spite of my lack of success in making my own gluten-free recipes, my quest this summer is to create a gluten-free blueberry muffin. There are sure to be several varieties coming out of my kitchen over the next few months, and feedback is always appreciated! At the end of the summer, I'll take a poll and we'll see which recipe wins the 2009 Best Blueberry Muffin award!