Gluten-Free Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

There's so much to love about summer in the Northeast, but one of the best things has to be the incredible amount of fresh, local fruit available.  Peaches, berries, plums, melons, nectarines, cherries... you name it - it's delicious and abundant in the summer.  Of course, all this gorgeous fruit has me thinking about what I can bake with it!   

A good blueberry muffin is so satisfying, and the combination of lemon and blueberry in this recipe elevates it to a really fresh, summery treat.  Citrus and berry are just gorgeous together.  

It's true what they say: the sweeter the berries, the better the muffins (someone must've said that at some point, right?).  I've made these before with not-so-great blueberries-- you know, the kind that taste like the inside of a refrigerator-- and it really just isn't the same.  So, seize the summer while you can and support your local blueberry grower!

I recently decided to invest in some fancy, tulip-shaped muffin liners (pictured below) from Amazon, and I'm definitely going to use them for all my muffins going forward.  You can fill them up much higher than normal muffin liners and not worry about any spillage.  Plus,  I like my muffins a good, hearty size.  They also are made from grease-proof paper and it makes unwrapping the muffins a breeze.  

If you don't have tulip-shaped liners, never fear.  You can easily make these in the normal muffin cups.  Just bake them for less time, and you'll end up with about twice as many smaller muffins.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Zest of 1 large lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend with xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners (see note above about regular muffin cups vs tulip liners).
2. Combine the lemon juice and milk, and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, rub the lemon zest into the sugar with the tips of your fingers.  This releases the oil in the zest and enhances the flavor.
4. Pour in the melted butter and stir until the mixture is smooth, and the sugar starts to dissolve.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
6. Add in the vanilla and milk/lemon juice mixture and beat until smooth.
7. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
8. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients in three parts, mixing after each addition, until smooth.  Scrape down the bowl with a spatula as necessary between mixing.
9. Carefully stir in the blueberries.
10. Pour the batter into the lined muffin tins, making sure each liner is about 2/3 of the way full.
11. Bake for 25-35 minutes (20 to 25 minutes if using the smaller liners), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
12. Make approximately 8 large muffins, or 16 smaller muffins.