Gluten and Dairy-Free Spider Web Muffins

09.16.2010

Ok, a more pleasurable topic for today. I picked up a magazine called Living Without because it had gluten-free and dairy-free recipes in it. Ok, I’ll be honest. The reason I picked it up is because it had very cute spider-web-designed cupcakes on the cover. But the gluten-free, dairy-free recipes were enticing too.[1] I swear.

I wanted to share the recipe because it sounds good and they really do look cute. I don’t have a diet that’s gluten-free (though I think I should) but I try to stay dairy-free and am always looking for recipes that honor that.

Before I share the recipe, though, the magazine had a separate article on Halloween parties for kids with allergies. Parents have come up with a different way to celebrate Halloween with their kids if they don’t go trick-or-treating (because of allergies). I thought the food ideas for the party were creative and that the party’s emphasis shouldn’t be the food (gasp!) but on the various activities. This is such a great idea because, as one parent said, kids will mostly eat whatever at a party. It’s the playtime that they want to get to. One interesting thing that a mom did is make “bowls” out of fruit (like an orange or grapefruit) and fill it with treats. As they say, it’s all about the presentation!

Spider Web Muffins – Makes 20

4 cups gluten-free All Purpose Flour Blend (see recipe below)

4 tsp baking soda

3 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 cup coconut oil (I’d use applesauce to cut down on calories)

1 cup honey

1 cup + 2 Tbspn milk of choice (for non-dairy, I usually use vanilla flavored soy milk though rice milk or almond milk cook better but are more expensive)

1 Tbspn pure vanilla extract

3 tsp lemon juice

1 1/3 cups fresh blueberries (I’d probably use 1 ½ but then I rarely follow a recipe to a tee)

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour blend, baking soda, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum. Add oil, honey, milk, vanilla and lemon juice to the dry ingredients. Stir well until batter is smooth. Gently fold in the blueberries until they are evenly incorporated throughout the batter

3. Use 1/3-cup measure to spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Place muffins in preheated oven to bake for 25-28 minutes, rotating the muffin tin after about 15 minutes. To test for doneness, a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin should come out clean. If tops are browing too quickly, cover them loosely with aluminum foil for last 10 minutes of baking time.

4. Remove from oven when done and cool muffins in the tin for 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Before decorating, freeze muffins for at least 1 hour to make them firm.

Each muffin contains 248 calories, 11g total fat, 9g saturated fat (yikes!), 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 573mg sodium (double yikes!), 37g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 1g protein. (Weight Watchers points = 5.)

Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) Earth’s Balance Buttery Non-Dairy Spread or unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar, divided

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 Tbsp milk of choice

Food coloring for web design (I’d stay away from traditional food coloring because it has artificial colorings. Whole Foods has natural food coloring but two things: one, it’s very expensive and you have to buy the colors separately – and they don’t have always have them in stock - and two, the colors won’t be as bright and vivid as the artificial ones.)

1. Using an electric mixer on low speed, cream together buttery spread and 1 cup powdered sugar. Gradually beat in remaining two cups of sugar, scraping the bowl frequently.

2. Add vanilla and milk and continue beating on low speed until icing is smooth and creamy.

3. Place ¼ of the icing in a separate bowl. Add food coloring to make black icing (2 drops red, 2 drops blue, 1 drop green). [I’d probably make a different color, like red or brown because you can’t mix the natural ones together; it doesn’t work. I’ve tried].

4. Spread white icing over muffins while they are still frozen. Spoon the black icing into a decorating bag fitted with the smallest opening or use a re-sealable plastic bag and snip a 1/16^th-inch hole in the corner of the bag. (Wow, that’s specific. I’d just cut a small hole and see what happens.) Starting in the center, pipe concentric circles of black frosting over the top of each muffin. Use a toothpick or the tip of a sharp knife to draw 6-8 lines from the middle of each muffin the edge, creating a spider web pattern.

Each frosted muffin contains: 399 calories, 20g total fat, 13g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 670mg sodium, 55g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 1g protein. (Weight Watchers points = 10.)

Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend

½ cup rice flour

¼ cup tapioca starch/flour

¼ cup cornstarch or potato starch

Each cup contains: 436 calories, 1g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat. 0mg cholesterol, 99g carbohydrate, 3mg sodium, 2g fiber, 5g protein.

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[1] Living Without, October/November 2010, Vol. 13, No. 6, www.LivingWithout.com