New Recipe: Strawberry-Goji Muffins

After receiving many requests on my blog, I am publishing my new recipe (for upcoming 4th cookbook) for Strawberry-Goji Muffins (these are wheat-free, but not gluten-free).

Strawberry-Goji Muffins

I created these muffins after blending goji berries into a smoothie one day.   I thought it would be terrific to combine the flavors of strawberries and goji berries in a muffin batter.

Goji berries are not as tender or sweet as other dried fruit, so they can be a bit of an acquired taste.  These muffins will help get you acquainted!   They are tender and lightly sweet, and the brilliant color of the strawberry-goji infused batter might be incentive enough to whip up these muffins. 

Strawberry-Goji Muffins

1 cup oat flour
1 cup spelt flour (sifted or light)
1/3 cup unrefined sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp (rounded) sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom (or cinnamon)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup + 1-2 tbsp plain or vanilla non-dairy milk (soy, almond, or hemp is best)
¼ cup dried goji berries
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
2 tbsp organic canola, safflower, or almond oil
1-2 tsp unrefined sugar, for topping

mixing batter for Strawberry-Goji Muffins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, add flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda (sift in the powder/soda), salt, and cardamom. Stir through to combine well. In a blender, add the strawberries, milk, goji berries, maple syrup, lemon juice, and arrowroot powder (if you don’t have a high-powered blender like a Blendtec, you can add all these ingredients to the blender and let sit for a few minutes to help soften the gojis, while you prepare the dry mix and your muffin tins). Puree until fully smooth with goji berries pulverized. Add the blended mixture to the dry ingredients, as well as the oil (see note). Mix through until well combined. Scoop batter into lined muffin tins (filling 9-10). Bake for 22-26 minutes, until muffins are set in the centre (they should look set on the surface, and you can test by inserting a toothpick or skewer in the centre of a muffin). Remove from oven, cool for a couple of minutes in the pan, and then transfer muffins to cool on a cooling rack.

(Alternatively, for smaller muffins, fill about ¼ cup of batter to fill about 14 muffins.  Bake for about 12-14 minutes, until done, testing with toothpick or skewer.)

Note: If you’d like to add some whole goji berries to the muffins as well, go ahead and sprinkle a couple of tablespoons in with the dry ingredients. Also, a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips is always a welcome addition!

Note: I prefer adding the oil to the batter rather than pureeing with the wet ingredients in the blender – just because it’s easier to clean the blender after!

Recipe © copyright Dreena Burton 2009