I am obsessed with ALL things blueberry partly because I didn’t grow up with blueberries on my table (not fresh ones, at least). C’est la vie when you grow up in the tropics. I first remember seeing some fluffy, big blueberry muffins at our local PriceSmart and I shrieked. I threw them in the cart and was like: “I need these in my life!”. My father consented, and he’s totally not a cake, cookie or cupcake person. Just ice cream, the man only eats ice cream (albeit in industrial amounts).

BUT; I think I love fruit so much because of him. Thankfully, my dad always loaded our supermarket cart with pineapple, papaya, bananas (he’s obsessed with bananas) watermelon and oranges. These were absolute staples at my house- like, every day food. They were always on the table and within reach as dessert after lunch or dinner. But the more fruit he gave me, the more I wanted unhealthy things, because they were such a “treat”. That my friends, remains an unexplained conundrum. Aren’t you supposed to eat healthy things and in turn, crave healthy things? Maybe this only kicks in when you’re older, as you become more cognizant of what you put into your body. But back then, I craved ALL the preservative loaded baked goods; and rarely made an exception. I craved them indiscriminately.

Now let me introduce you to the most delicious, moist gluten free blueberry muffins. (Because I’d never (ever) purchase grocery store blueberry muffins, again). These are made using Bob’s Red Mill GF flour, and get that perfectly moist texture by adding some vanilla coconut yogurt. If you don’t have a dairy intolerance; I suggest you try adding a cup of plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, instead.

What’s the perfect muffin like? Well, in my little baking realm it should be a bit crispy and golden on the muffin top and when you bite into it; it shouldn’t crumble. It should boast a perfectly moist, rich interior that tastes, well, “fresh”. This recipe has two tricks for accomplishing both effects: we’ll achieve a moisture rich interior by adding 1 cup of coconut yogurt. The other trick is to sprinkle coconut sugar over each muffin top right before putting them into the oven. Coconut sugar will do some beautiful browning of that muffin top. It has a nutty, caramel-like taste to it, too. Best of all, it’s much better for you than using all-white refined sugar. As this recipe calls for 1 plus 1/3 cup of sugar, I substituted with half coconut sugar. I’ve also baked this with coconut sugar only, but for best results; I encourage the 1:1 ratio I tested out for this purpose.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart’s: How to Make the Best Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins