Recipe: Gluten-free Vegan Blueberry Streusel Muffins

If your freezer is filled with bags of pick-your-own blueberries, this is the recipe you'll want to make when the weather starts getting cooler and you're missing the dog days of summer.  It's the perfect amount of sweetness that makes for a light dessert or yummy breakfast with a cup of hot coffee or chai tea.  The added crunch of toasted almond coconut streusel contrasts with the moist crumble of the cake, giving a very satisfying chew.

I returned to the set of WWLP-TV's "Mass Appeal" in Springfield, MA to demonstrate how to make this delicious recipe. You can see how easy it is to make this recipe by clicking on this link.

With just a 1/2 cup of oil, these muffins are low in fat and their sweetness comes in part from apple sauce mixed into the wet ingredients.  You can probably substitute more applesauce and make them entirely fat-free.

Enjoy some today!

Gluten-free Vegan Blueberry Muffins with Toasted Coconut Almond Streusel

For the Muffins:
1 1/4 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 cup organic cane sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 Tbl ground flax seed mixed with 5 Tbl water
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbl vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup frozen blueberries

For the Streusel:
1/4 cup slivered almonds
3 Tbl organic cane sugar
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup shredded coconut
pinch of sea salt
1-2 Tbl melted coconut oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine Streusel ingredients in a small bowl then set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together brown rice flour, garbanzo flour, tapioca starch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, sea salt and cinnamon. Add oil, applesauce, flax seed mixture, almond milk, vanilla and almond extracts and whisk together until combined. The batter should be thick but spoonable. Carefully fold in frozen blueberries. Line muffin tins with papers. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop batter into the papers. Sprinkle about 1 tsp of streusel topping over each muffin and lightly press down to ensure topping adheres to batter. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until tops are springy and sides of muffins are lightly browned. Cool for 5-10 minutes in the pans, then transfer to cooling rack to continue cooling completely. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar before serving.