Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins
Delving into summer's bounty after a trip to the East Coast.
Dear friends,
We’ve just come back from a trip to New England that filled us up with green vistas, salty sea air, and lots of family time. The last time we visited, back in 2012, it was August, and I picked black raspberries for pie. This year, in June, the berries were still just blossoms, and there was no time for baking; I did, however, look enviously at my aunt’s rhubarb plants, some of the healthiest rhubarb I’ve ever seen! I wish I could have picked and packed them up to take home with me.
Thanks to my generous neighbors back home, though, I was able to take advantage of their equally glorious plants and pick a bunch that I plan to use to make all the jam I didn’t get to last year. Before we left, I baked a strawberry rhubarb crisp that disappeared in a matter of hours (if you still have rhubarb, make it!). I still can’t get enough.
Here in Northern California, summer’s in full swing. We had a bit of the “June gloom” effect earlier in the week to welcome us home (coastal fog socked in until the late morning), but the sun is shining now from early on. By some trick of fate, my garden is thriving, with pumpkin sprouts gaining inches every day. The lone zucchini plant I stuck in the ground on a whim is blossoming (surely there will be enough for a gluten free zucchini chocolate cake in August!). And my flowers are happy! I heard a fox screaming in our backyard last night, and a second round of baby birds is nesting in our bird box.
I’m feeling like baking all of the summer bakes, but simple things like gluten free blackberry muffins (soon) or a blueberry crisp, nothing too complicated. And of course, strawberries are just perfect at the moment, so I might make a batch of vegan strawberry muffins or a gluten free strawberry shortcake cake (also perfect for summer BBQs).
The recipe I’m sharing today is for a simple morning bake: gluten free strawberry muffins. I use buttermilk in the batter to make them extra-soft and fluffy, and you can use gluten-free 1:1 flour or oat and almond flours, depending on what you prefer. It’s easily made dairy-free if needed, too. I’m going to post the recipe on my blog with notes and tips next week, but I wanted to share it today in case you want to whip it up for tomorrow’s breakfast.
I love adding strawberries to muffins and breads; they add a bit of moisture, loads of natural sweetness, and they are delicious. Strawberries just feel like summer to me, and if my dog hadn’t dug up all of our strawberry plants, we’d be enjoying them pulled straight from the vine, sun-warmed and juicy (the best way to eat a strawberry, in my opinion). Ah well, there’s always next year.
See you next month,
Nicole
Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins
Makes 12 muffins.
To make dairy-free, use 1 cup of a non-dairy milk of choice, add 1 tablespoon vinegar, let sit for 10 minutes, then add to the batter.
3 cups gluten free flour (340 grams), or 280 grams oat flour + 70 grams almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup sugar, or use 3/4 cup honey
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup neutral oil (avocado, coconut, vegetable)
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups strawberries, hulled and finely chopped
Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, oil, and eggs until completely combined. Pour into the dry ingredients and gently mix until combined. Fold in the strawberries.
Preheat the oven to 375℉. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Let the batter rest while the oven heats.
Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until a tester inserted in a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the tin and then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.