Red, White and Blueberry Muffins (v/gf) for WOTV 4 Women

July 4, 2013
Let’s Keep it REAL with
Red, White and Blueberry Muffins (v/gf)
for WOTV 4 Women

All ingredients are available at D&W Fresh Market

Weekend and holiday mornings are perfect for spending a little more time than usual in the kitchen on things, like making muffins from scratch. Filling the house with the aroma of baked goods is such a nice way to lure tired kids out of bed. Unless of course you preempt that divine smell with inadvertently turning on your mixer with all of the extra attachments in the bowl, which does not sound lovely or divine. It sounds like everything is crashing out of your cabinets and on to the kitchen floor. However, the latter did get one of my kids out of bed and into the kitchen within seconds, so use either wake-up method as you deem fit.
Back to baking, it is also important to taste your batter as you go. Do not wait until you have all 48 mini-muffin cups greased, dusted with flour, filled and perfectly topped with exactly two blueberries and one piece of strawberry each, to realize that you’ve neglected to add the…SUGAR! You know the one ingredient that is nonnegotiable when it comes to muffin making. Or, you will have 4 dozen red, white and blueberry biscuit-ish muffins (or muffin-ish biscuits) which your family will have no problem offering up “FREE to a good home”, as mine did. Luckily I bought extra ingredients for a second try. Did I mention by this time I was covered in flour and my kitchen was such a mess that the daughter that ran down so quickly to help me, assessed the situation and ran back upstairs just as fast?
Anyway, you can say that my morning spent doing R&D on this muffin concept was anything but smooth but, that’s life in my kitchen. It took a few trys, but now this recipe is perfect for you. Hopefully your holiday morning goes better than mine did today, but whatever happens just keep it real this Fourth of July and beyond, enjoying a few good muffins with loved ones along the way.

Red, White and Blueberry Muffins
(v/gf)
Makes approximately 4 dozen mini-muffins

3 C Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
1 t Baking powder
1/2 t Baking soda
1/2 t Sea salt
1/2 t Cardamom, ground
1 C Smart Balance Buttery Spread
1 1/2 C Sugar, raw turbinado sugar, plus extra to sprinkle on top
2 t Vanilla extract
1/2 C Apple sauce
2 T Flax, ground
6 T Water, purified and warm
1 T Lemon juice
1 C Milk, plant-based (i.e. soy, almond, rice or other)
1/4 C Strawberries, diced
1/4 C Blueberries
1/4 C Pecans, chopped and toasted

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter two mini-muffin pans and dust with flour, tapping off excess. By hand, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and cardamom in a medium sized bowl. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the Smart Balance Buttery Spread, sugar and vanilla extract together. Add to the mixer, the apple sauce. Hand stir the ground flax with the warm purified water in small dish and when it’s combined into a paste, add it to the mixer. Next, add the lemon juice to mixer. At a low speed, add the flour mixture and milk alternatively until combined.  Add the berries and nuts then hand mix to combine. Fill mini-muffin cups 3/4 full and tap pan to release any air bubbles. Bake for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Finish each muffin with a sprinkle of raw turbinado sugar.

Ingredients available at D&W Fresh Market.
Happy Independence Day!