Lemon Blueberry Muffins (grain-free : gluten-free : nutrient-dense)

Although her tolerance for grains is increasing over time, I still like to make grain-free baked goods for my daughter that she can enjoy with impunity.  Last weekend I developed a new muffin recipe that she loves: Lemon Blueberry Muffins. 

Rich in healthy protein and fat, these muffins are moist and delicious. 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 use only unrefined sweeteners.


Lemon Blueberry Muffins

• 3/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• zest from 1 lemon, which makes about 1 tsp of packed zest
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) 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)
• 5 eggs, preferably from pastured hens
• 1 Tb organic vanilla extract (or use homemade vanilla)
• 3/4 tsp organic almond extract 
• 3 Tb fresh lemon juice
• 3 Tb organic sour cream, preferably from pastured cows
• 1 heaping cup organic frozen blueberries*

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 coconut flour, salt, baking soda, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Whisk it all together to break up any lumps.  
4. Preheat the oven to 325 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 and mix well to combine. The batter will become rather thick, but don't worry about it.
10. Stir or mix in the blueberries.
11. Use a 3-Tb scoop or large spoon to scoop the batter into the muffin cups.
12. Bake the muffins at 325 degrees F for 33-37 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 berries have far superior flavor to the fresh ones sold in grocery stores.