Strawberry Poppy Muffins (FODMAP friendly)
Every June, our family heads upstate to go strawberry picking in picturesque Warwick, NY. And every June, I am faced with an embarrassment of strawberry riches to process while they’re still fresh. This year, I pulled together a delightful recipe for Strawberry Poppy Muffins, with adjustments so they can be sent into school for my kids’ classmates on gluten free/dairy free diets. As with everything I bake, I keep the added sugar on the lower side, so these lovely babies are just sweet enough.
Strawberry Poppy Muffins (FODMAP friendly)
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups of spelt flour (*contains gluten) OR Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 baking flour
1/3 cup rolled oats, plus more for sprinkling on top (use gluten free oats if needed)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 cup plain Green Valley Creamery lactose free yogurt OR plain/unsweetened coconut milk yogurt (So Delicious brand, dairy-free)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups diced ripe strawberries— roughly corresponds to 1 lb of strawberries.
To garnish: sugar (white, turbinado, coconut… your choice)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Grease muffin tin with oil spray or butter if not using a non-stick pan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the spelt or gluten free flour (your choice), 1/3 cup oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds. Mix to distribute ingredients evenly and set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, combine the oil, maple syrup and eggs, Whisk well with a fork until a bit frothy and well-combined. Then, add the yogurt and vanilla and whisk again until the mixture is smooth, evenly colored pale yellow, and well combined.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix with a large rubber spatula until just combined. Then, add the diced strawberries and gently fold them into the batter until evenly distributed; be sure all the flour is mixed in fully to the batter as you fold. (Don’t worry if this batter looks thicker than your typical muffin mixture; the ripe strawberries will give off some water while the muffins bake, so you don’t want to start off with too wet/thin a batter!)
Divide the batter evenly among your 12 muffin cups. They will be pretty filled to the top.
Sprinkle each muffin top with a pinch of oats and a pinch of sugar. Bake for about 20 minutes (gluten free flour may take a little bit longer to bake than spelt flour). Muffins are ready when they’re a bit golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
After removing from oven, allow muffins to cool before removing from tin to store. Seal them in an airtight container and eat within 2 days if storing at room temperature, or freeze them and enjoy them throughout the summer!