Twenty years ago we took a Teillon family vacation to Bar Harbor, ME. While we were hiking down Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, we encountered a family who were picking blueberries – a favorite pastime in Maine in August. They had a unique approach – they would freeze the picked blueberries and label where they came from.  So, in January when they were having pancakes they weren’t just blueberry pancakes, but Cadillac Mountain blueberry pancakes. While I love this tradition I can’t say that I have ever done it, but maybe I will inspire you to do it someday?

Perhaps you don’t have handpicked frozen blueberries from your summer vacation but you might have access to fresh ones at your local farmers market. The ones I used in these muffins came from the Frecon Farms (from Boyertown, PA) stand at the Growing Roots’ Farmers Market in Malvern, PA – my local farmers market. 

I added some fresh rosemary from my garden to add a slight savory flavor. I love rosemary so welcome any opportunity to use it. I’m always on the look out for fruits and herbs that pair well together particularly for baked goods and cocktails.

I used a mixture of two gluten-free flours – an all-purpose flour and an almond flour. Note that almond flour is simply finely ground almonds. Don’t be tempted to use all almond flour as you will not get the desired doughy muffin result. The almond flour will lend a bit of a sweet and nutty taste to your muffins but will not overpower them with almond flavor. If you don’t need to make these muffins gluten-free, simply use regular all-purpose flour in place of the gluten-free all-purpose flour but still use the almond flour.

I hope you have access to some fresh summer blueberries to make these yummy muffins.

Author’s Note: I really wanted to open this post with ‘a score ago’ but stuck with the more traditional twenty years. I’ll keep looking for a chance to work this into writing. If it weren’t for the Lincoln’s opening to the Gettysburg Address (“Four score and seven years ago…”), I’m not sure I’d know what a ‘score’ is.

Blueberry-Rosemary Muffins (Gluten-Free)

 

Blueberry-Rosemary Muffins (Gluten-Free)
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Recipe type: Bread
Author:
Serves: 18 to 20 muffins
Ingredients
  • 2-1/4 cups gluten-free flour or unbleached all-purpose flour (see Notes)
  • ¾ cup almond flour (see Notes)
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 4-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1-1/2 cups buttermilk (see Notes)
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 of a stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • Zest from 1 lemon
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin pans. Recipe will make between 18 and 20 muffins.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and rosemary.
  3. Make a well in the center.
  4. Stir in eggs, buttermilk, butter, lemon zest and vanilla extract, being careful not to over mix.
  5. Gently fold in blueberries into the batter – it’s okay if a few break up. Batter will be “sticky.”
  6. Fill the muffin cups about three-quarters full.
  7. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until lightly golden and a cake tester inserted into center of muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not over bake.
Notes
* Recipe works well with gluten-free flour (such as Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour) or all-purpose flour.
* For almond flour, I recommend Bob's Red Mill Natural Almond Flour.
* I recommend using SACO Cultured Buttermilk Blend in place of fresh buttermilk. You’ll find it in the baking section of your grocery store. Follow directions on the container for use. It keeps for a few years refrigerated so you always have buttermilk on hand.
* Don’t have fresh berries? Use frozen ones straight from the freezer instead – no need to defrost them.
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