Gluten Free Lemon Berry Muffins

I love lemon anything. And if you’re like me, nothing wakes up tastebuds like these moist and tangy gluten free Lemon Berry Muffins!

With the corn meal addition, they are more filling than your average muffin, but don’t worry, they don’t taste like cornbread and they’re not heavy or dense.

But of course, feel free to just use more of my light and clean tasting gfJules™ Gluten Free All Purpose Flour in place of the corn meal if you prefer an airier muffin.

As with my Sunshine in a Muffin Cup Lemon-Poppyseed Muffins (in my Free For All Cooking cookbook), these will brighten any morning with tart, fresh, mouth-awakening cheer! Beautiful, aromatic and delicious. What’s not to like?

Choose your favorite berry (cranberry, blueberry, raspberry … or add poppyseeds instead … the possibilities are nearly endless!) and bake your way to a happy morning!

The lemony base to these moist muffins is perfect for nearly any addition (I can hear my daughter whispering “chocolate chips” in my ear … I guess they do go with most anything!).

The other beautiful thing about this recipe is that you can use my easy gfJules™ Gluten Free Muffin Mix to make these yummy muffins! Follow directions below to use the mix OR bake from scratch — whatever floats your muffin boat!

As you can see, I’ve made this recipe quite a few times over the years. It’s always a hit. I hope your family enjoys it, too!

PS – if you’re like me and love lemon, definitely give my to-die-for gluten free Lemon Bars a try soon!

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Gluten Free Lemon Berry Muffins

Yield: 16-18 muffins, depending on size

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Gluten free lemon muffins are only made better with a pop of your favorite berries! Made from scratch with gfJules Flour or even easier with gfJules Muffin Mix!

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Ingredients

DRY INGREDIENTS

• gfJules™ Gluten Free Muffin Mix
• 1/2 cup cornmeal, gluten-free (I used Arrowhead Mills) OR simply add 1/4 cup gfJules™ All Purpose Flour

OR

• 1 1/2 cups gfJules™ All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal, gluten-free (I used Arrowhead Mills) OR 1/2 cup gfJules™ All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tbs. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt (optional)

Additional INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 Tbs. lemon zest* (one lemon)
• 3 Tbs. fresh squeezed lemon juice (approximately one lemon)
• 6 Tbs. milk of choice
• 1/2 cup granulated cane or coconut palm sugar (if using gfJules™ Muffin Mix, use only 1/4 cup sugar or skip for less sweet muffins)
• 5 Tbs. cold butter or non-dairy alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks
• 1 egg (or 3 Tbs. very warm water + 1 Tbs. flaxseed meal – stirred and set aside for 10 minutes)
• 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt – dairy or non-dairy (coconut or soy) or sour cream
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

BERRY ADDITIONS

• 3/4 – 1 1/4 cup berries, coarsely chopped** or other fresh berries (optional)
• 2 Tbs poppyseeds (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (static) or 325° F (convection).  Line 16-18 regular muffin tins with muffin papers, or 10-12 larger muffin papers.

Zest one lemon, then juice it and add to the milk. Set aside to allow time for it to curdle.

Beat together sugar and butter until light; if using my gfJules Muffin Mix, add 1/2 of the mix with the butter, as well as 1/4 sugar if using.

Add egg (or egg substitute), yogurt and vanilla extract.

Whisk dry ingredients together (no need for this step if using my gfJules Muffin Mix). Add zest and stir.

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredient bowl, alternating with milk and lemon juice mixture.

Fold in the berries or poppyseeds.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and smooth tops with a rubber spatula dipped in water for a smoother texture.

Bake for 20- 25 minutes for regular muffins; 30-35 minutes for larger muffins as pictured. The tops should be lightly browned and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the centers should come out dry. Remove to cool on a wire rack.

Once cooled, store in a zip-top bag or in a Tupperware container. They will remain soft and fresh for several days; do not store in the refrigerator.

Notes

*A note on zesting  a lemon: The true “zest” of a lemon is obtained by finely grating only the yellow portion of the lemon peel by using a grater with very small holes or microplane grater. Only zest down to the white pith; do not grate the pith in with the peel, as it is bitter, rather than tart. Be sure to wash your lemons with soap and water, then dry well before peeling.

** A note about berries: I usually buy cranberries and blueberries when in season, then freeze them. This means that I always have berries for those urgent recipe cravings, but it also means that I can chop cranberries in my food processor and add to recipes without the juice staining the batter or use whole blueberries without staining. Notice how the crumb on these lemony muffins retained its lovely yellow hue, punctuated with ruby red berries? If I had used room temperature berries, folding them in it would have left streaks of red or blue bleeding through the batter. No less tasty, mind you, but perhaps not the color you were going for.

Nutrition Information

Yield 18 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 120Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 22mgSodium 247mgCarbohydrates 17gFiber 1gSugar 9gProtein 2g

Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.

Did you make this recipe?

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