Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Whatever Muffin

  A while ago I bought some rice flour for a recipe (that I have yet to make BUT plan to soon!!). It's been hanging out in my pantry for a while now. I've pulled out a couple of time and thought I'd try baking with it but just haven't had a good idea of what to I wanted to make. So back in the cupboard it would go. I had a meeting yesterday with a friend that is sensitive to wheat so I pulled out the rice flour and decided to make her some muffins. I used Bob's Red Mill rice flour (I love their products) and had noticed a muffin recipe on the side of the package. I used that recipe as a guide but these muffins are simple to adapt to "whatever" you want. You can sub any liquid for the milk, soy milk, juice, water, whatever! Add nuts if you like or leave them out. Any kind of fruit will work, fresh, frozen, or dried. I like having options!!  I added a cinnamon sugar topping to mine because I love cinnamon and blueberries. You can't have a blueberry muffin without a cinnamon sugar topping! Well you can, but I'll take mine with the cinnamon please.


The Whatever Muffin (printable recipe)
Adapted from Bob Red Mill 
yield: 6 muffins

Ingredients:

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk (or liquid of choice, even just water)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup white rice flour (brown rice flour can be substituted)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped nuts - whatever type you want (optional)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen fruit-any kind (I used frozen blueberries that I tossed in a little bit of the rice flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins)

Optional topping:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon



Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 6 muffin cups with  paper liners or coat the cups with canola cooking spray, or use a silicon muffin pan. In large bowl, combine egg, milk or  liquid of  your choice, sugar, and canola oil, mix until smooth. Add the rice flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just until combined. Stir in nuts (if desired) and fruit of choice. If using; mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Divide batter among the prepared 6 muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the cinnamon and sugar mixture and bake for 15-17 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of largest muffin comes out reasonably clean.
I was really pleased with the resulting muffins. They were light and very tasty and I wouldn't have even known that they were wheat-free. They are so simple to make, one bowl, and easily adapted, I foresee many muffins in my future!

16 comments:

  1. Cinnamon on top is definitely a necessity! I would never have known these were gluten free.

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  2. i thought "whatever" was going to mean you didn't like the muffins, but i'm glad to hear it just means the recipe is versatile. it looks pretty yummy in the photos

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  3. Interesting. Good to know that wheat-free flours give good results, too! Were they as moist as 'normal' muffins?

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  4. yay for bob, whomever he may be--i love his products too!
    triple yay for cinnamon sugar on anything, whether it's muffins, cookies, or straight on my tongue. :)

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  5. Yes the cinnamon is essential!! lol I really thought they were pretty close to the texture and moistness of a regular flour muffin. I really don't think I'd have know the difference if someone had served them to me. Good news for all those folks with wheat allergies!!

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  6. Did the rice flour do change the texture in any way?

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  7. What a great lookin' muffin!

    I also would like to ask you a question. I adore your blog so much, I would like to know if it was at all possible if we could link up to one another's blogs? I would really apperciate it.

    Thank you.
    Either way I'm a continued reader of your posts.
    -Cat

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  8. Oh, great! I have some rice flour in my pantry too and a new colleague who is allergic to both gluten and dairy products, so I could use this recipe next time I want to bake things for the office.

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  9. Oh these look wonderful! I will be trying them. Husband has announced a new healthier diet plan and these will fit the bill perfectly. I love the blueberries and cinnamon sugar. The muffins look really perfect!

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  10. Wow I like this one. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

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  11. Would canned pumpkin work instead of fruit?

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  12. @Anonymous Sorry for the late reply but my spam filter send most anonymous comments to my spam folder and I just checked it today. I don't know if pumpkin would work. I have only tried these muffins with fruit pieces and not with a pureed friut so I'm not sure how it would work. Sorry not to be of more help!

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  13. I love this recipe! For the batter I used grated apples, added cinnamon, and extra sugar because I have a huge sweet tooth. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

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  14. I have been slowly making dietary changes due to belly issues and feeling very achy this past year, i started with going dairy free which got rid of the nausea but I am still struggling. I have never baked with brown rice flour. so this was a good recipe to start with. I followed it exactly as you instructed and added frozen blueberries. They rose up beautifully like a wheat flour muffin but I did find them very dry. Nothing like a dab of vegan marg can't fix. I will def make these again as they were so simple and quick to make. do you have any suggestion on how to make them so they don't turn out dry? thank you for a great basic yummy recipe. I will pass this along to friends.

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  15. These muffins are sooooo delicious!!! I've made them twice now and the pickiest eater always has seconds. I use brown rice flour, almond milk, coconut oil instead of canola, and honey instead of sugar. Sprinkle kyle the top with some coconut sugar and cinnamon and these are the most delicious muffins ever! It's a must try!!

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  16. I LOVED these muffins!!! I substituted 3/4 c. plain yogurt for the liquid and used raw honey instead of sugar and they were fantastic.

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