Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Updated Jul 11, 2018, Published Oct 10, 2012
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I hate to brag but I do make some really great gluten free blueberry muffins.
Well, maybe I don’t hate to brag because evidently I have done it. I know one should not brag and boast; my mother warned me about this when I was growing up.
I was invited to brunch at a friend’s and when I asked what I could bring my friend said, “How about those blueberry muffins we have heard so much about?”
Ordinarily this would have not been a cause for concern because as I said, I make some pretty darn good blueberry muffins. However, after frantically running to three stores in search of fresh blueberries to no avail, I started to get a bit worried.
It was time to think – what to do, what to do? Sure, I could buy frozen blueberries but I am never as happy with the results; the frozen berries seem to put too much liquid into the muffins no matter how well I drain them. I decided to try using freeze dried blueberries instead. I stirred a packet of freeze dried blueberries into my muffin batter and crossed all my fingers and toes. The result? Brilliant! The blueberries baked up in the muffins juicy and plump, as if I had used fresh.
There are a couple tricks to these muffins; you cream the butter and sugar together as if making cupcakes, which results in an a lovely, light texture and they are topped with some sugar and lemon zest which gives a sweet-tart crunchy top. And let’s be honest, isn’t the top of the muffin the very best part?
Fortunately, my self-created reputation for great gluten free blueberry muffins survived intact! I suppose the moral of this story is not to brag and boast but if you do – you better deliver!
Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup milk, at room temperature
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1 ounce freeze dried blueberries
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a standard muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and line the muffin cups with paper liners.
- Stir the lemon juice into the milk and let set for about 5 minutes. The milk may look a little curdled but this is OK.
- In a small bowl, mix the lemon zest with 1 tablespoon of sugar until fully blended. It is easiest to do this with your fingers because the lemon zest may be moist and tends to clump. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and remaining cup of sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn mixer to low and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each egg is fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl with each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and lemon milk mixture to the creamed butter starting with 1/3 of the flour mixture, then half the lemon milk mixture, half the remaining flour mixture, the rest of the lemon milk mixture and the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl well with a large spatula. Gently fold in the blueberries. Divide evenly between the prepared muffin cups, filling the cups almost to the top. Top the batter with the lemon zest sugar mixture. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing. Serve warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I just followed your recipe for the Lemon Blueberry Muffins and they were so easy to make and they were absolutely delicious….the only change I made was to switch the sugar to coconut sugar…..they are a definite hit in my house hold of gluten free eaters….thank you
Glad you enjoyed them Angie. I love coconut sugar! I am always so happy to hear when gluten eaters like gf recipes!!!
I made these with fresh orange juice and zest because I didn’t have lemons, and I used fresh blueberries. I also didn’t have any muffin liners so I baked it like a cake in a 9 inch square pan-I just pulled it out of the oven and it smells and looks YUMMY! As a side note, I zested 3 oranges and added lots more sugar so I could have orange-infused sugar at my disposal-I keep on opening up the jar to sniff it just smells SO GOOD! Thanks for the recipe, I’ll definitely bookmark this one!
Yum! Sounds delish and I like the idea of baking as a cake to change things up!
Oh and I substituted honey for the sugar. Works just fine and creamed up well with the butter.
Equal amount of honey for sugar? Or did you use less honey?
I used what I thought was an equal amount because my honey had hardened slightly, but it probably ended up more than 1 cup) My husband didn’t like it bc it was buckwheat honey (awesome during the winter for bronchial support but a much stronger flavour than wildflower) other than that it turned out great. I’ll make them again today as I have muffin liners AND cane sugar. I’ll also use the very fragrant orange-sugar that is now a staple in my cupboard : ) Thanks again!
My pleasure!
These are the best muffins I’ve ever made/had!!!!! Thank u!!
Why thank you so much Erika! Happy you enjoyed them!
I just made these, and I must say, they are FABULOUS! I used fresh blueberries and replaced half the butter with unsweetened applesauce. Finally a GF blueberry muffin recipe that is delicious. Thank you!
Thank you so much Jessica, glad you enjoyed them!
Just tried the recipe and they taste great only that they overflowed all over my oven. I followed the recipe exactly. This same thing happened with the last recipe i tried. I recently had to switch to GF baking and am new to this. Is there something I’m missing or need to know about GF baking?? Please help!
Hi Jamie. My easiest fix would be to not fill the muffin tims too full. I have found that even “standard” muffin tins vary in size so if you are having trouble just fill them less and make more muffins! I hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions.
Just made them for a Gluten free potluck :) they are awesome, that is something coming from only chocolate baker ;) one question though they were flaky and my son (8) said they need to be little more moist. I left them in the oven for 35 mins, will it help if I take them out early.
Hi Radna, yes I would just cook them less, just until the toothpick comes out clean. Thank you!
Im going to try these! It’s the one thing I miss the most. In my post GF world I ade the best bberry muffins and froze gallons of hand picked ones. When I baked with them, I just poured them in the batter frozen….always yummy, never a problem . Just FYI
Thanks!
Do you have a successful fresh blueberry pancake recipe ?