Gluten-free Dairy-free Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

… Citrus-y Speckled Breakfast Muffins!

These gluten-free, dairy-free orange poppy seed muffins have a bright, citrus flavor bursting with a freshness of springtime. The poppy seeds speckled throughout the cake provide just the subtlest occasional crunch.

I started with my basic gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate chip banana muffin recipe to ensure success and the best moisture level in the cake. By keeping the cup of mashed ripe banana in the batter, the texture stayed perfect, but there’s no banana flavor here … just a great crumb effervescent of orange. Yay, spring!

I think these muffins are flavorful enough on their own, but I think they would also be delicious with a schmear of non-dairy cream cheese or cut in half, a spread of non-dairy margarine on each half, then grilled to a golden brown crispness. I don’t think you can go wrong with however you decide to enjoy these muffins.

Gluten-free Dairy-free Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

Prep time: 10 minutes

Baking time: 17-19 minutes

Oven temp: 375ºF

Rest time: 5-10 minutes

Makes: 12 muffins.

Ingredients:

2 cups (240g) gluten-free all-purpose flour – I use Authentic Foods Bette’s Gourmet Four Flour Blend¹

1 1/2 teaspoons guar gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder – I use Clabber Girl

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

zest of 2 oranges

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar (regular white sugar)

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe banana

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Lightly spray or oil a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with cupcake papers.

Add flour to a bowl. Sift guar gum, salt, baking powder, and baking soda over the flour (this breaks up lumps, if any are present. Finding a pocket of baking powder or soda, albeit small, in a bite of baked goods isn’t tasty), but don’t sift the flour. Whisk all ingredients together.

Add poppy seeds and orange zest and stir to distribute.

Blend, with a hand-held mixer or in a stand mixer, the oil, brown sugar, and white sugar until all sugar is moistened. The mixture will look like wet sand.

Add eggs and blend again to a creamy mixture, about 45 seconds on medium speed.

Stir mashed banana into mixture, using low speed, just until stirred in well.

Stir in flour mixture, using low speed, until batter is well combined, scraping down sides of bowl to incorporate all flour.

Fill muffin cups evenly with all batter. I like to use a #20 (standard size, levered) ice cream scoop because the batter equals almost exactly 12 level scoopfuls, just perfect to fill all the muffin cups.

Bake at 375º for 17-19 minutes, until golden brown and the top of a muffin bounces back when touched lightly, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Place muffin pan(s) on a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.

Remove muffins from pan and let rest on cooling rack to finish cooling.

Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold from the fridge.

Store room temperature muffins in an airtight container on the countertop for 3-4 days. For longer storage, individually wrap muffins in plastic wrap, then place in a re-sealable bag and store in the freezer for up to three months. Easily defrost by removing plastic wrap and warming for about 20 seconds in the microwave, or place plastic-wrapped muffin on countertop or in fridge to thaw.

Delicious serving suggestions include:

Scoop out a hole in the center of the muffin and fill with cream cheese (or dairy-free substitute) … my favorite, by the way.
Slice muffin in half, lightly spread margarine or butter on both cut halves, then turn butter-side down on a warm grill pan to toast. Great this way, or dollop a little apple butter or orange marmalade on each grilled half for a tasty warm snack.

^{1Authentic Foods Bette’s Gourmet Four Flour Blend Product Review}

^{2Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Chips Product Review}

Safe food is a journey … Thrive!™