Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Blueberry Pecan Muffins with Toasted Millet
I can't even begin to tell you how surprisingly happy I am with these muffins. They are really, really good.
I've had several of you ask me if I've tried Pamela's Products Artisan Flour Blend and until recently, I hadn't tried it - nor was I that anxious to try it. However, I've been doing a lot with sourdough these days (I'll share about that at a later date), and making actual bread loaves with the starter has been posing a challenge for me with the flours I'm trying to combine, as well as blends that I normally purchase for use in other baking. I started thinking this particular blend might work a bit better, but I haven't tried it with the sourdough yet. Seeing it available as a single bag purchase through Amazon's subscribe and save program, however, gave me the incentive to go ahead and purchase a bag.
The first thing I tried with this flour blend was pancakes. I mostly followed the instructions on the bag, with a few of my own tweaks. I have to beg of you in the name of all that is good to NOT make pancakes with this flour blend. My daughters found them edible, but not as tasty as other pancakes. I, on the other hand, could barely gag them down. The texture was terrible. Very gummy and heavy. The batter was thick and slimy. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
So it was with much trepidation that I made muffins out of it, following the basic recipe on the bag but making my own adjustments that I felt would give the batter a better chance of turning out something edible. I wasn't disappointed, and am looking forward to making them again this week. The toasted millet adds a lovely crunch and flavor you don't want to skip out on!
I feel better about trying it with the bread soon. I'll let you know how that goes.
Blueberry Pecan Muffins with Toasted Millet
(Printable Recipe)
Projected Prep Time: 15 min; Projected Bake Time: 15-18 min; Makes 14-19 muffins (regular size)
2 cups Pamela's Products Artisan Flour Blend
1/2 cup almond flour
1 Tbsp. gluten-free baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
8 Tbsp. melted butter, unsalted
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup toasted hulled millet (see directions)
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
2/3 cups pecan pieces
Place 1/3 cup hulled millet in dry pan and cover with lid. Heat at low-medium heat for a few minutes, shaking pan often, until millet is hot and toasted. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line muffin tin with baking cups.
Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl with a fork.
Whisk together melted butter and milk (room temperature will keep butter from getting firm again), then whisk in eggs and vanilla.
Pour liquids directly into dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Mix in toasted millet. Fold in pecans and then blueberries.
Drop evenly into muffin cups (the batter made 19 muffins in my regular size tins).
Place in oven (top rack if gas oven) and drop temperature to 375 degrees. Bake 15-18 minutes or until done. Cool on wire racks. Store leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator, bringing to room temperature or warming back up just a little to eat.
Enjoy!