Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

 I figured I would take a break from bundt cake recipes and try some muffin recipes. Muffins are great anytime, morning, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. During the summer, when the berries were in season, we made a lot of berry muffins. One muffin we did this past summer was the Farmer's Market muffin. This muffin was chalked full of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries, all obtained from local vendors. They were very moist and delicious. Muffins became a weekly offering at the farmer's markets for us.

Since we try to cater to everyone's needs, we started making some Vegan and Gluten-Free muffins. Experimenting on the right combinations for things was always fun and sometimes the results would work and other times, you knew just by looking at the muffin that it WASN'T going to be a good muffin. Since I'm a visual type of person, it was hard for me to try muffins that just look gross. Our friend, who has Celiac's disease, was only too happy to be our taste-tester for anything gluten-free. As she said, "Free Food! I'm game." 

Some recipes I've tried for gluten-free call for a wide variety of gluten-free flours and starches. A health store or the organic section of a grocery store will have a selection that can be used in gluten-free baking for you to choose from. I usually use either Uncle Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour or a Brown Rice Flour Blend (see below for recipe) for those things I make gluten-free. Every once in awhile I'll use Buckwheat, Sorghum, or Almond flour for a recipe. 

Enjoy this Cinnamon Sugar recipe. The gluten-free version is just as good as the regular version.

Ingredients: (topping) 2Tbsp sugar, .5 tsp cinnamon* (muffins) 1.75 c gluten-free flour or brown rice blend, 1 Tbsp gluten-free baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon, .5 tsp sea salt, .5 tsp xanthan gum, .5 c sugar, .25 c butter, softened, 1 egg, .75 milk, 1 tsp pure vanilla

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 350 and prep either a 12-cup muffin pan or a 6-cup with liners. (2) In a small bowl, combine ingredients for topping. (3) In bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and xanthan gum; set aside. (4) In mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat egg until incorporated then add milk and extract and beat until blended. (5) Add flour mixture to egg mixture and using a wooden spoon, stir until just blended. (6) Divide batter evenly in prepared pan and sprinkle with topping. Bake for 15-20 minutes* (12-cup pan) until tops are golden and cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then remove and cool on a wire rack.


*Brown Rice Flour Blend: 2 c finely ground brown rice flour, 2/3 c potato starch, 1/3 c tapioca starch. Whisk ingredients together. Makes 3 cups. Store in fridge or freezer if not using up right away.

*I love cinnamon so I usually go heavy on the cinnamon.
*Cooking time for 6-c muffin pan is longer and depends on oven. Usually 30-40 minutes.