Raspberry Streusel Muffins

gluten free raspberry streusel muffins

So I was trying to think of what I could do with a bucket of ripe juicy raspberries I had just picked from a friend's backyard and ... I came up with these. I had never made raspberry muffins before, and I didn't have a GF recipe, so it was a bit of a gamble and I wasn't expecting too much. I found a few wheat flour raspberry muffin recipes online (to get some ideas of how they're usually made) and decided to give it a try. I couldn't believe it! They turned out AMAZING! They may just be my new favorite muffins.

I made my husband some wheat flour raspberry scones with the rest of the berries and he was still trying to steal my muffins. They were totally better than his ;)

They are also great with blueberries and a dash of vanilla... with or without streusel.

GF Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

So if you're wondering what to do with fresh raspberries, or have some hanging around in the freezer (or just love raspberries and are willing to buy some for this specific recipe), definitely give this one a try!

(makes about 14 muffins)
Ingredients

1/3 cup margarine
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (or use vanilla yogurt and only add 1/2 cup sugar)
1/4 cup + 2T milk
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups gluten free flour (light flour blend) (or your favourite flour blend)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 - 1 1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Streusel

2 1/2 Tbsp rice flour (or any gf flour)
2 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbps margarine
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Cream together sugar and butter.
Blend in eggs, sour cream and milk.
Add dry ingredients and mix together just until combined.
Fold in raspberries. It's fine if the raspberries get broken up and the batter turns pink.

pink batter

Spoon in to paper lined (or greased) muffin tins.
Combine Streusel ingredients and crumble on top of each muffin. (You can omit streusel if desired)

Bake muffins at 375  F for 24-28 minutes.
Let cool for 5 minutes in the tins then transfer to a cooling rack.
Freeze within a few hours to keep fresh.

spoon into muffin tins and top with streusel

cool on a rack

Monster Cookies (Flourless)

gluten free monster cookies

These cookies are chewy and gooey fresh from the oven and go beautifully with ice cold milk. They crisp up a bit when they cool but still have an amazing taste. They keep well in the freezer so you can make a nice big batch. I have made these cookies many times and they are pretty hard to screw up... unless you add about 4 times the baking soda... then they become one huge burnt cookie... I may have done this once... blame it on my sous-chef husband ;)

I should probably just call these oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies because I rarely make them with the classic M&Ms. I prefer the taste of chocolate chips and they are cheaper anyway.

(makes about 40 cookies)
Ingredients

1/4 cup room temperature (or slightly softened) Margarine*
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Smooth Peanut Butter
2  Eggs
dash of Vanilla extract (optional)
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 1/4 cup GF Quick Cooking Oats
1 cup Chocolate Chips or M&Ms

Directions

Cream together sugar and margarine.
Add peanut butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
Add oats and baking soda together. Stir.
Add chocolate chips and stir.
Drop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet.
Cookies will expand during baking, so leave lots of space between cookies if you don't want to have to cut them apart later. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 F.

Cookie Dough

Cooling

* If the margarine is too soft, the cookies will spread out a lot (like pictured). Slightly soft or room temp margarine will help keep the cookies smaller and taller. 

White Buns

gluten free white buns

These buns have a good texture and a nice mild taste. I mostly use them for sandwiches and pizza buns, but they are very versatile. The dough is quite sticky so it's important to keep your fingers, and the spoon you're working with, wet. I usually borrow my mom's Kitchen Aid mixer for this recipe because it makes the job so much easier. They need to rise, so make sure you set aside some time for this one.
These buns are delicious and well worth the effort!

Makes around 24 buns (or 2 small loaves)
Ingredients

1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp sugar
4 tsp dry yeast granules
2 cups white rice flour
2 cups tapioca flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp guar gum (replaces the gluten)
1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk
4 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 eggs
1/4 cup ground flax (optional)

Directions

Combine warm water, 2T sugar, and yeast in a small bowl and let sit for 5-15 minutes (depending on type of yeast).
Combine rice flour, tapioca flour, 1/4 cup sugar, guar gum, and salt together in largest mixing bowl. Combine milk, oil, vinegar, and eggs in a smaller bowl.
Add wet mixture, flax, and yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on high for 4 minutes.
Spoon blobs of dough onto greased cookie sheets.
Be sure to dip the spoon in water (and your fingers too) before scooping to keep the mixture from sticking.
Smooth the dough with the back of a wet spoon to form into desired shape.
Let buns rise for at least 15 minutes and then bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (until brown all over the top).

spoon on to cookie sheets

let rise

bake and let cool

You can also use this recipe to make bread. Spoon dough into 2 greased foil lined loaf pans and allow to rise. Bake at 350 for roughly an hour, covering with foil after 30 minutes so the top doesn't get too dark.

This recipe also makes great breadsticks. For recipe and directions see the breadsticks recipe post.

these make great pizza buns!

Crepes

gluten free crepes

This recipe is great for dessert, breakfast, or dinner crepes. Just add your favourite fillings! I like strawberries and whipped cream the best.

They are super easy to make. The only gluten free ingredients you need are tapioca starch and rice flour. You can store any leftover batter in the fridge for fresh crepes the next day!

(makes about 14-16 crepes)
Ingredients

1 cup rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk (may need a bit more)
3 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp icing sugar (optional if you want crepes to be sweetened)
Directions

Combine flour and salt in a bowl.
Make a well in the flour and whisk in eggs and milk until batter is smooth. It should have the consistency of light cream.
Stir in melted butter.
Cover and place in fridge for at least half an hour.

thin batter

Stir batter again and heat up a non-stick pan (or crepe pan) on medium-high heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the hot pan and swirl immediately to form a very thin coating on the base of the pan. Flip the crepe when the edges begin to curl up a little (1-2 minutes). Cook on the other side for another minute or 2. Serve with your favorite fillings.

the edges start to curl up

Filling Ideas

Strawberries, Icing Sugar, and Whipped Cream
Sliced Bananas and Nutella (right side of picture at the top of the page)
Jam or Pie Flling with Ice cream
Peaches and Coconut Cream Sauce
Raisins, Brown Sugar, and Sour Cream (my Dad's favorite... I think it's a dutch thing)
Ham and Cheese with a Poached Egg

ham and cheese with poached egg

strawberries and cream with powdered sugar