Gluten-Free Berry Muffins

Gluten-Free Berry Muffins or How Much Do You Love Ina?

Ina Garten inspired these muffins. My friend’s copy of Barefoot Contessa at Home was plopped face-down on her kitchen counter. During a visit, I noticed the pile of muffins on the back of the book. And these weren’t just any muffins— no, these were berry muffins. Let’s be honest, looking at a picture of berry muffins during the height of berry season practically guaranteed I’d head into the kitchen to whip up a gluten-free version.

The muffins easily converted to gluten-free. During testing, I found brown rice flour contributed a heavy texture to the muffins. To keep them light, I settled on a blend of white and sweet rice flour and potato starch. Interestingly, the original recipe calls for the granulated sugar to be added at the end of mixing instead of creaming it together with the butter at the beginning of mixing. This leaves the muffins with a “delicious crunchy outside,” according to Ina. The gluten-free version didn’t have the crunchy outside. Instead the sugar simply melted into the muffins during baking as always, but didn’t crunch.

The muffins were just what I wanted: light, sweet, and bursting with berries.

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter)

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Gluten-Free Multi-Berry Muffins

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 24 muffins

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups finely ground white rice flour (8 ounces; 226 grams)
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour (2 ounces; 56 grams)
• 1/2 cup potato starch (2 ounces; 56 grams)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 1/4 cups milk (10 ounces; 283 grams)
• 2 large eggs (about 3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams, out of shell)
• 3/4 cup oil (5 1/4 ounces; 148 grams)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries washed and picked over
• 1 cup diced strawberries
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces; 297 grams)
• non-stick gluten-free cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line muffins pans with paper cupcake liners or spray pans with non-stick gluten-free cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, whisk together white rice flour, sweet rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. In small bowl, whisk together eggs, milks, oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry. Whisk together until a batter forms, about 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar. Whisk to combine. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently fold in berries.
3. Fill prepared muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake until muffins are golden brown and cake tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Transfer muffins to wire rack to cool. Store muffins in an airtight container for up to three days or freeze once cooled.