Berry Cornmeal Muffins

I've been trying to cut some of the gluten out of my cooking, mostly for the lil lady.  When I get back from spending most of July in London, I'm going to invest in some of that fancy schmancy stuff like spelt flour, brown rice flour, xantham gum, etc... but for the time being, oatmeal and cornmeal have been great friends.

(ok, yes, there is controversy about whether and when oats are gluten free)

(unfortunately it's not like this controversy)

This muffin recipe (which I found just by gooooogling) uses less wheat flour because it uses some cornmeal.  Baby steps.  Also, delicious.  I'm still using the fruit from the commercial shoot that Sarah worked on last month; this time, it was blueberries.  This muffin would have been a little bit dense and dry if it weren't for the luscious blueberries in every bite.  They were actually really great, especially with a bit of earth balance on them.

I subbed in 1/2 c wheat flour (and used 1 c white flour for the remainder).  I also used a flax egg instead of a chicken one, soymilk instead of dairy milk, and turbinado sugar instead of white sugar.  Using frozen berries meant that the muffins took considerably longer to cook (about 7 min more); the key is to watch and test frequently, even if it means that some of the muffins will have holes in them from your testing.

Berry Cornmeal Muffins

(from joy of baking)

Ingredients

1 c white AP flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

3/4 c cornmeal

1/2 c sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

zest of one lemon

1 c fresh or frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, and/or blackberries)

1 egg (1 TB ground flax + 3 TB water, allow to sit for 10 minutes before using)

1 c nondairy milk

1/4 c canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 TB turbinado sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400*  Butter or spray with a non stick cooking spray 12 muffin cups. Can also line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl combine 2 TB of this mixture with the berries.
3. In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. 
4. With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Gently stir in the berries. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result. 
5. Evenly fill the muffin cups with batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Sprinkle with the sugar.
6. Place in the oven and bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes (I used frozen berries and it took closer to 25-30 min). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.  Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

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Oh hey, we also made more tempeh sausage like this.