Orange Raspberry Muffins (Gluten-Free)

“You look like you’ve been manhandled by the Pillsbury Doughboy!” It’s a phrase I’ve heard on more than one occasion. I’m infamous for neglecting to throw on an apron before I attack a project in the kitchen. I have kitchen towels near the sink but I find I’m always on the other side of the kitchen when I need the towel. Instead of walking the few short steps it takes to get to the other side of the kitchen I do a quick wipe on the side of my pants. I often do this when working with flour which is why it often looks like I’ve been manhandled by the Pillsbury Doughboy. I have little white hand prints all over my hips. It’s hysterical.

I had plenty of little hand prints on my pants when I attempted my first batch of these muffins. It took two batches to get the result I wanted which meant there was a lot of flour flying around.

The warm weather we’ve been having always makes me crave citrus infused concoctions. I wanted to create a muffin that would have some type of citrus flavor. I was torn between making blueberry muffins with a lemon glaze or these orange raspberry muffins. Obviously the orange raspberry concoction made it to the finish line but the blueberry muffins will probably make an appearance in the near future.

My first batch was almost a disaster in the making. I was distracted when combining the ingredients and added the butter into the dry ingredients before I had incorporated it with the rest of the wet ingredients. The muffins tasted pretty good but they did not rise well at all. My second batch came out much better.

The recipe is based off of the ratio I used for the April Gluten-Free Ratio Rally. I made an incredible Cheesy Apple Butter Bread for the rally. If you are looking for inspiration for other quick bread recipes check out what the other participants made.

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Orange Raspberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces gluten-free flour blend*

4 ounces granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

6 ounces milk (I used 1%)

2 ounces orange juice

4 ounces eggs (2 large eggs)

4 ounces butter, melted

zest of 1 orange

6 ounces raspberries, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350º

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking powder.

In a medium sized bowl combine the milk, orange juice, eggs and butter. Use a whisk or a hand blender, whisk or blend until the eggs are mixed into the rest of the wet ingredients.

Add the wet to the dry ingredients. Whisk just to combine.

Add the orange zest and gently stir into batter with a wooden spoon. Add in raspberries and gently stir into batter with a wooden spoon.

Pour batter into muffin tins to the rim of the tin. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with 1-2 teaspoons of granulated sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Servings: 12 muffins

Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove from the pan and either eat immediately or allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

*I make my own gluten-free flour blend. The basic recipe is 11 ounces brown rice flour, 3.75 ounces potato starch and 1.40 ounces tapioca flour. Combine the ingredients together and then measure out 8 ounces from the combined ingredients.

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