Strawberries and Cream Muffins

Valentine's Day is coming up this week and I was inspired to try out a new kind of muffin. Strawberries seem to be the classic fruit of Valentine's Day, and it was one of the only fruits I had on hand, so I decided to try a modification of my raspberry streusel muffins. I love the moisture and richness that sour cream (or plain yogurt) adds to muffins. Whenever I make a muffin that doesn't use some kind of fruit or vegetable purée (bananas, pumpkin, etc), I try to incorporate sour cream or yogurt. These muffins turned out great and are a fun and delicious Valentine's treat! 

I tried putting a strawberry slice on top to look like a heart, but they sunk in to the batter too much during baking. So it became more of a hidden heart inside each muffin, which is fun too! 

Hope you enjoy :)

Makes 14-16 muffins 

Ingredients

1/4 cup Canola Oil (or vegetable oil)

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Sour cream (I use 5%) - or plain yogurt

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Milk

2/3 cup Sugar 

2 cups GF flour blend (I use my light flour blend)

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1-11/2 cups Chopped Strawberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions

In a large bowl, mix wet ingredients and sugar together.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and gently mix to combine.

Fold in chopped strawberries.

Fill 14-16 paper lined muffin tins 2/3 full.

Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. 

Let cool in the muffin pan for a few minutes then move to a cooling rack. 

Store in an airtight bag in the freezer. 

Add dry ingredients to the wet

Fold in strawberries

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Top with heart shaped strawberry slices (optional)

Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes

Qualifirst Review: Sun-dried Blueberries, Sun-dried Cranberries,Lavender Honey

Qualifirst Products 

The second part of my Qualifirst review includes 2 more sun-dried fruits and a beautiful French lavender blossom honey. All of these ingredients are amazing on their own, so I didn't do anything too complex with them. I simply paired them with foods I thought would compliment their flavours.

Sun-dried Blueberries and Cranberries

Lavender Blossom Honey

Lavender Blossom Honey

I am not a honey connoisseur in any way. I usually buy the cheapest stuff and spread it on toast or use it to sweeten tea. I was amazed at how different this lavender honey tasted compared to my regular store brand. There is a distinct, yet delicate, floral after-note that imparts a kind of tea-party-in-the-garden sentiment. I felt that these flavours would be lost in any kind of baking, so I simply used it as a topping for my cornbread muffins. It would also be amazing on scones or any other tea party appropriate treat. I find myself going back over and over again for just one more taste of that charming flowery nectar.

Lavender Honey on GF Cornbread Muffins 

Sun-dried Blueberries

There is an amazing amount of flavour packed into these tiny nuggets. They are deeply sweet and bursting with blueberry flavour. I added them to a maple walnut granola and they provided the perfect compliment; sweet and chewy, nutty and crunchy. Of course they are also delicious eaten straight up. My 2 year old discovered them and now calls them bucket raisins. He is no longer interested in regular raisins. Haha!

Maple Walnut Granola with Sun-dried Blueberries 

Sun-dried Cranberries

These are not your every day craisins. They are whole and plump and tart. I baked them into my lemon poppyseed muffins, in place of craisins. It's almost tastes like I added sweet fresh cranberries, not dried. The burst of fruity flavour is a welcome addition to my afternoon coffee treat! 

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Sun-dried Cranberries 

Disclaimer: I was provided these samples free of charge. All opinions are my own. 

Enjoy Life All Purpose Flour Review

I used this flour in my recipe for chocolate zucchini muffins and they turned out great! I've made these muffins many times using my own flour blend, and while they were a little different in texture this time, they were still really good.

My favourite part of this flour is the multiple healthy grains used. They make the mix higher in fiber and nutrients than a lot of gluten free flour blends you will find. The flour blend costs $8.49 per box, which seems a bit more expensive than most gluten free flours on the market. 

Texture                       4.5 stars

Taste                          4.5 stars

Quality Ingredients      5 stars

Cost                           2.5 stars

Overall Rating             4  stars

Enjoy Life Muffin Mix Review

I make muffins from scratch probably once every 2 weeks, so I've had a lot of good and a lot of bad gluten free muffins over the years. There were positive and negative things about this mix. I loved how easy and convenient it was to use a mix compared to baking muffins from scratch. All you need to add is oil and water, so it's affordable and easy to make even if you're not into baking. The muffins taste great and contain good quality ingredients such as millet, quinoa, teff and sprouted brown rice protein. There are 2 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein in each serving. 

The negatives for me were texture and wetness. It seemed like it would've been better to add less water to the mix. It was soupy in consistency and hard to get into the muffin tins without making a big mess. I added blueberries to the mix and they all sunk, making it extra wet at the bottom of the muffin. Because the muffins were so moist, the texture seemed a little pasty to me. 

Overall I really liked the flavour and convenience of this mix, but I didn't love the texture. At $8.49 per box its a little pricy, but it does make about 14 muffins and would be great for someone that doesn't have time to bake from scratch. 

Cost                        3 stars

Quality Ingredients   5 stars

Texture                     2 stars

Taste                        4.5 stars 

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars 

Enjoy Life Foods Mixes Review

I was super excited when Enjoy Life asked me to review their new line of dry mixes! Not only are they free of the top 8 allergens, but they also contain probiotics, ancient grains (like teff, buckwheat, millet and quinoa)  and 5 grams of plant based protein per serving. Here is a photo of the print out they sent to me with some more info on the products.

My favourite thing about this review is the effort Enjoy Life put in to the blogger packages. They are pretty amazing! Complete with a branded spatula, oven mitt, stirring spoon and pizza cutter; they really went above and beyond with their blogger love! I had to show off the box to my friends and family and everyone was totally jealous. I am actually pumped about the oven mitt because my old ones are starting to wear out :) 

Isn't it adorable? I think they should make this available to purchase on their website as a gift box. It would be a great care package for a student or as a Christmas gift. I'm sure anyone would love to recieve this beauty in the mail. 

I will be reviewing the 5 Enjoy Life mixes: muffins, brownies, pancakes/waffles, pizza crust and all purpose flour blend. Click on each link for a full review. 

Muffins

Brownies 

Pancakes/Waffles 

Pizza Crust 

All Purpose Flour Blend

Quinoa Blondies

I love the recipe I have for quinoa brownies, but I kind of left it at that for the longest time. I didn't realize there was a whole world of quinoa baking at my fingertips! Muffins, cakes, BLONDIES. Duh! It was staring me right in the face this whole time. I think technically blondies are supposed to have chocolate chips in them or something, but you can always melt them on top when it comes out of the oven if you require chocolate in your blondies.

Similar to my quinoa brownies, these blondies have a lighter, cake-like texture - go ahead and call it cake if you want, you have my permission ;). The recipe can be made in an 8x8 baking dish, as cupcakes or mini cupcakes like I have shown in the pictures. Simply adjust the baking time accordingly. Some similar recipes I've seen (thank you, pinterest) will even double the recipe, cook in round pans and make a layer cake with some kind of delectable frosting. 

Oh, and as an added bonus, these blondies contain coconut flour! Something I am trying to use and understand a bit more. I get mine from the bulk barn. 

makes an 8x8 baking dish or about 20 mini cupcakes

Ingredients

3 Tbsp Milk (any variety)

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Eggs

1/4 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup Canola Oil (or melted coconut oil or butter)

1 cup Cooked Quinoa

1/2 cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Coconut Flour

3/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

Directions

In food processor or strong blender, blend milk, eggs, vinegar, vanilla and quinoa.

Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.

Add dry mixture to food processor and blend with the wet ingredients. 

Pour into greased or parchment lined 8x8 baking dish

or greased/nonstick mini muffin cups.

Bake at 350 until edges start to brown and the middle is set - 25-30 mins for a dish and 12-15 for mini muffins. 

before baking

after baking 

I will try to get a picture of the blondies in the pan next time I make them. Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoy :)

Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

It's pumpkin season and I am busy adding pumpkin to some of my favourite recipes. I love this version of cornbread muffins. The pumpkin puree adds moisture and the spices create a warm, festive flavour. Enjoy slathered with butter and honey and along side stew, soup or chili.

Mini Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

We love them as mini muffins and I always make extra to freeze or take with leftovers for lunch. You can use the batter to make pumpkin cornbread pancakes too! (may need more milk)

makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

1/3 cup Sugar

1/3 cup Oil

1/2 cup Pumpkin (or squash) Puree (I use home made but store bought works)

1/3 cup milk 

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Cornmeal

1/2 cup Corn Flour (or use more cornmeal)

1 cup Rice Flour (or your favourite GF flour blend)

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

3/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice 

Directions

Mix together wet and dry ingredients separately, then combine.

Spread batter equally between 12 muffin tins lined with papers (or use mini muffin tins)

Bake at 350 for around 15 mins (more like 10 mins for mini muffins)

Serve warm with butter and honey or freeze for later once cool.

Not a pumpkin fan? Try my regular cornbread muffins!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Just a quick recipe to spice up your Monday! These muffins go great with afternoon tea.

They also make fabulous mini loaves. (may need to increase cooking time slightly)

makes 12 muffins
Ingredients

1/3 cup Margarine Melted (or butter)
3/4 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 1/2 cups Light Flour Blend (recipe here)
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
Zest of one orange or lemon
2 Tbsp Poppy seeds

Glaze
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp Sugar


Directions

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt .
Make a well in dry mixture and beat eggs with milk, lemon juice and melted margarine (or mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine with dry ingredients)
Mix in poppy seeds and orange/lemon zest until just combined.
Pour batter into 12 paper lined muffin tins.
Bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes (until centre hold its shape when poked)

Make glaze by mixing lemon juice and sugar.
Spoon glaze over warm muffins.
Let cool completely, then freeze whatever is not eaten within the day.
Microwave from frozen to eat.

Poppy Seeds and Orange Zest

bake at 350 for 17-20 mins

Glaze while still warm

Let cool and freeze

Quinoa Blueberry Muffins

Gluten Free Quinoa Blueberry Muffins

Lately I've been experimenting with quinoa in baked goods. I am not a huge fan of salads containing quinoa, and I wanted to find other way of incorporating quinoa in to our diet. I've also noticed that my recipes with quinoa are some of my most popular posts. My favourite recipe so far is Quinoa Brownies, but I had success with this quinoa muffin recipe too.

I used blueberries, but you could add in anything you want (chocolate chips, dried fruit, chopped or grated apple). You can definitely taste the quinoa in this recipe, and it is delicious.

Enjoy!

makes 12 muffins
Ingredients

1 cup Cooked Quinoa
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/4 cup Millet Flour
1/4 cup Tapioca Starch
1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Milk
1/4 cup Canola Oil
2 Eggs
3/4 cup Blueberries (or other fruit or 1/3 cup chocolate chips/dried fruit)
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Directions

Stir together dry ingredients and quinoa.
Beat together wet ingredients (not blueberries) and mix with dry ingredients.
Fold in blueberries and spoon into paper lined muffin tins.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Let cool on rack and store on counter for 1-2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

spoon into paper lined muffin tins

bake at 350 for 25-30 mins

let cool on rack

mmm...