I needed to make something to bring to an event that I was attending recently. Knowing that the hostess was sensitive to gluten and dairy I wanted to make sure that I made something that fit her nutritional plan.
Casting around for ideas I spied a pile of fresh Meyer lemons that I had recently been gifted with in the fruit bowl. These are my absolute favorite lemons. Immensely fragrant they add fabulous lemon-y flavor. I have a small tree that is now making 6-8 lemons a year. I am eagerly awaiting the day that I get bags full of lemons like my friends. Fortunately, those same friends are very generous and share.
I had thought about making a lemon quick bread but decided to make muffins instead. The best thing about muffins is that they are so easy to throw together. In just a few minutes you can have all of the ingredients mixed together and into the pan. Because muffins are so small they bake rather quickly.
I love lemon-flavored baked goods. Quick breads, scones, muffins, they are all so tasty when they have the added brightness of lemon added to them. I'm not sure why lemon baked goods don't often make an appearance, more people seem to go for chocolate, or other flavors. Sometimes sticking with a simple flavor is the best, imho.
I wanted my muffins to have a little crunch to them so I decided to add some millet which would give a slight pop. I've used millet before in other baked goods and like the crunch and texture it adds.
I often play with a recipe multiple times before it's ready for prime time, but this one seemed to come together really well so I'm sharing it as is. I made it in mini-muffin tins and got three dozen. They were well received at the event, all of them were eaten and I went home with crumbs. This is definitely a recipe that's a keeper. Something not-too-sweet but definitely tasty, perfect with a cup of tea to brighten up a cold, grey, winter morning.
Lemon Millet Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup sucanat
- 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice crystals
- 1 lemon
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup almond milk, approximately
- 1 cup gluten free flour mix (I used a combination of oat, rice, buckwheat, tapioca)
- 1/4 cup fresh ground flax seeds
- 1/4 cup (heaping) millet seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Grease three mini-muffin pans (or one regular muffin pan)
- Zest the lemon
- Juice the lemon and put juice into a measuring cup
- Add almond milk until there is 2/3 cup liquid
- Beat together coconut oil and sugars until fully combined
- Add eggs, one at a time until well mixed
- Add lemon zest, baking soda, and the salt
- Alternate adding flour and curdled milk, making sure they are well mixed
- Spoon by tablespoonfuls into muffin cups
- Bake 15 minutes
- Let cool 2 minutes in the pan
- Finish cooling on a wire rack
The substitution of milk is fine, the butter may need to be adjusted a bit as it will change the texture. Try it as a full substitution, see what you think, and make adjustments to the butter if you think you need it. Would love to hear how it goes.
do you think it would well just to use milk and butter instead? My mother-in-law is gluten tolerant but not lactose sensitive.
This sounds so good. I’ve never had a lemon muffin. I’m going to try this recipe and tweak it with soft white whole grain since I’m not gluten sensitive. I hope it turns out as well as yours.