Berry Cornbread Muffins

For me breakfast is the hardest meal of the day. For starters, I get up at 4:00 am and I just can’t eat that early, so I normally take something with me and eat it on my way to campus. My breakfasts usually consist of a Greek yogurt or a scone that I have baked.  This is also the only meal that I get jealous of people with out celiac disease, because they could eat just about anything they wanted for breakfast. We with celiac do not have the convince of stopping at Starbucks (which we have two on campus) to grab something quick to eat.

Making eggs, or pancakes in the morning is just not an option.  It would take too long, can’t really eat it on the go, and I would take the risk of making too much noise and waking up Bryan who gets to sleep in a few hours before he needs to head off to class. Stocking up on pre-made gluten-free items like bagels is also out of the question as we just can’t afford that. So I am on the hunt for new breakfast recipes that I can make on the weekends and have for the school week.

As I looked at the ingredients I had in the house: all-purpose flour blend, corn meal, frozen raspberries, various gluten-free flours, and an orange I thought why not try to make some cornbread muffins for breakfast. Thankfully it was a success! They are mighty delicious and you could use whatever berries you happen to have, fresh or frozen in this recipe. We tend to have a decent supply of frozen fruit on hand – they make tasty and healthy snacks and we love to make smoothies with then.

We are also cutting back on our sugar intake – so the amount in the recipe below is not a lot at all, however you can feel free to add 1/2 cup of sugar instead of the 1/4 the recipe calls for if you wish for a slightly sweeter muffin. I really wanted to taste the corn and berries in this, however I did sprinkle on a little bit of Wholesome Sweeteners Raw Cane Sugar from Malawi (love this stuff), for that “coffee shop” look to the muffins.

I think these muffins will be a very satisfying breakfast – they are filling but still fluffy and moist.

Berry Cornbread Muffins

1 Cup Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour

1/2 Cup Corn Flour

3/4 Cup Corn Meal

1/2 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum (only if your mix does not have it already)

1/4 Cup of Sugar (I use Wholesome Sweeteners Natural Cane Sugar from Malawi)

4 Teaspoons of Baking Powder (make sure it is gluten-free)

1/4 Teaspoon of Salt

Zest of one Orange (reserve some to sprinkle on top after removed from the oven) – You could also use lemon zest.

1/4 Cup Egg Beaters (Or 1 Large Egg)

1 Cup Soy Milk (Almond or other nut milk would work just fine)

1/4 Cup Canola Oil

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract (pure if possible)

1 Cup of Frozen or Fresh Berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together all of the wet ingredients until well combined.
4. Slowly add to dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
5. Do not over mix the batter, as it will result in tough muffins.
6. Gently fold in the berries.
7. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
8. Scoop the batter evenly into each paper lined muffin cup.
9. Optional – Sprinkle the top of each muffin with a little bit of the Wholesome Sweeteners Raw Cane Sugar from Malawi.
10. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
11. Insert a toothpick into the center of the muffins, if it comes out clean or will little stuck to it, the muffins are done.
12. Optional – Sprinkle with reserved zest
13. Cool in the pan for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
14. May be eaten warm with a little butter, honey, or agave  if you wish.