I moved to the United States more than fourteen years ago. One of my first days in this country, the man that later became my husband, brought me to Au Bon Pain in Boston. That day I tried my first blueberry muffin and I just loved it. A couple of years after that first encounter, I had a chance to bake some blueberry muffins, and … it was a disaster! I don’t know if it was because I mixed the batter too much, but my muffins were tough and never had that fabulous look that the Au Bon Pain muffins have.

Fast forward to 2011, when I opened my bakery. At this point I was experimenting with gluten-free muffin recipes. They were decent, some attempts tastier than others, but I was never able to create a blueberry muffin to be proud of.  Now, mixing the batter too much is a common reason for dry, hard muffins, since, as you mix the batter, the glutens in the flour release and start to tighten. But what about gluten-free muffins? I didn’t even have the excuse of over mixing!

For years, in the back of my mind, the fact that I could not achieve a satisfactory result had been nagging at me. I would try, then give up, then stumble upon an inspiring recipe or a new technique, and try again. Finally, a few weeks ago, I did it: I was able to bake a delicious gluten-free blueberry muffin, and I smiled.

Gluten-free Blueberry Muffins

Butter                                6 Tablespoons (3 oz)
Granulated sugar            3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz)
Eggs                                   2 large
Simona’s Flour Mix        2 cups (11 oz)
Baking powder                2 teaspoons
Salt                                    1/2 teaspoon
Lemon zest                      one medium lemon
Milk
                                   1/2 cup (4 oz)
Vanilla extract                 2 teaspoons
Blueberries                      1 1/2 to 2 cups (about 1 pint), either fresh or frozen
1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a 12 muffin pan with baking cups.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until they’re light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in the milk, and vanilla, mixing only until smooth.

Quickly stir in the berries. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 to almost full, using all of the batter.

Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, until they’re light golden brown, remove them from the oven, and place the pan on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the muffins from the pan, so that they don’t become too soggy. Enjoy!