Blueberry Muffins from ‘Paleo Perfected’
Every week, Yahoo Food spotlights a cookbook that stands out from the rest. This week’s cookbook is Paleo Perfected: A Revolution in Eating Well with 150 Kitchen-Tested Recipes by the editors at America’s Test Kitchen (America’s Test Kitchen). Read more about Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week here.
Photograph by Carl Tremblay
By the editors at America’s Test Kitchen
Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Why This Recipe Works: Baking a great paleo muffin is a serious challenge, since traditional muffin recipes rely on wheat flour, sugar, and butter for structure and flavor. We set out to create a paleo-friendly recipe that would produce muffins with light, fluffy interiors and nicely browned, domed tops. Our first task was finding the right flours and starches to replace wheat flour. We chose neutral-flavored almond flour as our base, but its inability to absorb liquid meant that our muffins turned out dense and greasy. A small amount of coconut flour helped to absorb moisture and gave the muffins more structure, but they were still a bit heavy. Arrowroot flour lightened the texture considerably; combining the arrowroot with the liquid ingredients and letting the mixture rest for 30 minutes allowed the starch to fully hydrate and prevented a gritty texture in the muffins. To ensure that our muffins rose nicely, we put the stand mixer to work. While traditional muffins require gently folding the batter together, we used a stand mixer to incorporate air into the batter and lighten the mixture. A simple faux-streusel made with sliced almonds gave our muffins crunchy, attractive tops. If using frozen blueberries, rinse them gently after thawing to remove excess juice, then spread out on paper towels to absorb excess moisture before using.
¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons coconut sugar, plus 2/3 cup (3 1/3 ounces)
1 tablespoon lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
1 cup (4 ounces) arrowroot flour
3 large eggs
½ cup water
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups (9 ounces) almond flour
3 tablespoons coconut flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
7 ½ ounces (1 1/2 cups) fresh or thawed frozen blueberries
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325°F. Grease 12-cup muffin tin. Combine almonds, 2 tablespoons sugar, and lemon zest in bowl; set aside.
Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip arrowroot flour, eggs, water, melted coconut oil, vanilla, salt, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, and lemon juice together on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Let mixture rest in mixer bowl for 30 minutes.
Whisk almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and nutmeg together in bowl. With mixer set to low speed, add flour mixture and mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip batter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Using rubber spatula, fold in blueberries.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups (cups will be filled to top) and sprinkle with almond mixture. Bake until muffins are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking.
Let muffins cool in muffin tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes before serving. (Muffins are best eaten warm on day they are made, but they can be cooled and immediately transferred to zipper-lock bag and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day. To serve, warm in 300-degree oven for 10 minutes. Muffins can also be wrapped individually in plastic wrap, transferred to zipper-lock bag, and frozen for up to 3 weeks. To serve, remove plastic and microwave muffin for 20 to 30 seconds, then warm in 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.)
Reprinted with permission from Paleo Perfected: A Revolution in Eating Well with 150 Kitchen-Tested Recipes by the editors at America’s Test Kitchen (America’s Test Kitchen).
More paleo recipes to love:
Chocolate Chip Georgia Pecan Pie from ‘Down South Paleo’
Orange Sriracha Chicken from Nom Nom Paleo
Grilled Mayan Pork Chops from ‘One-Pot Paleo’
