Lemon Raspberry Muffins

Those of you who've been following my blog for awhile have probably figured out by now that I like a lot of variety in my diet. While I would enjoy the simplicity of a regular meal rotation, I just couldn't bear to eat the same things over and over again.  I also delight in developing new recipes. I love to unleash my creativity through experimenting with new flavors, and sometimes it feels like magic when a new recipe comes together just right.

My latest new recipe is Lemon Raspberry Muffins.  These are based on my current favorite flour combination: coconut flour, ground crispy nuts, and Einkorn (an ancient variety of wheat that is naturally lower in gluten and higher in protein than modern wheat). I like to make these muffins using a combination of sucanat and sugar for the sweetener; the lighter taste of sugar allows the bright flavor of lemon to really "pop" in this recipe. However, sucanat can be used exclusively if you prefer to stick with only unrefined sweeteners.

Lemon Raspberry Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

• 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup organic Einkorn flour 
• 1/3 cup organic coconut flour
• 1/4 cup ground crispy pecans or almonds (or substitute almond meal)
• 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt 
• 1/2 tsp ceylon cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• zest from 1 lemon, which makes about 1 tsp of packed zest
• 6 Tb grassfed butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup of sucanat 
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used a mix of sucanat and raw sugar for a lighter flavor)
• 3 eggs, preferably from pastured hens
• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract (or use homemade vanilla)
• 1/4 tsp organic almond extract
• 3 Tb fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tb organic sour cream, preferably from pastured cows
• 1 cup organic frozen raspberries*

1. Line a muffin tin with paper cups.  (I prefer If You Care Unbleached Baking Cups because the muffins do not stick to the sides of the cups.) 
2. Zest the lemon using a microplane rasp or other zester. Then use a lemon reamer to juice the lemon. If your lemon has a very thick rind, you may need to juice more than one lemon to get 3 Tb of fresh lemon juice.
3. Combine the Einkorn, coconut flour, ground nuts, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Whisk it all together to break up any lumps.  
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Combine the butter, sucanat and sugar in a large bowl (a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer works great for this recipe). Cream together for a couple minutes until the mixture turns slightly lighter in color.
6. In the meantime, combine the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract in a small bowl. (I find that a Pyrex glass measuring cup works great for this because the pour spout makes it easy to add these ingredients to the mixer while it is running.) Do NOT mix up the eggs at this point.
7. Once the butter and sucanat/sugar have become well-mixed, mix in the eggs one-at-a-time.  With my stand-mixer, I can just pour in each egg while the mixer is still running.  Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice to get everything incorporated well. (It is okay if the mixture looks a bit curdled during this step.)
8. Add the sour cream and lemon juice to the wet mixture and mix it all well.
9. Add the dry ingredients a bit at a time.  Because the Einkorn flour does contain gluten, make sure not to overmix or the muffins will be tough.  The batter will become rather thick, but don't worry about it.
10. Stir or mix in the raspberries.
11. Use a 3-Tb scoop or large spoon to scoop the batter into the muffin cups.
12. Bake the muffins at 350 degrees F for 27-32 minutes, until a they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out dry. (The baking time will be less if fresh berries are used instead of frozen berries.)
13. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before serving.

*Except during our local berry season, I find that frozen raspberries have far superior flavor to the fresh ones sold in grocery stores.

What is your favorite muffin flavor for Spring?

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