Gluten-Free cardamom, almond pear muffins

Yum! The combination of almond, pear and cardamom make these muffins super unique and tasty.

If you don’t have any cardamom in the house, substitute nutmeg. It won’t taste exactly the same, but it will still be yummy! You can also substitute non-fat sour cream instead of the yogurt or buttermilk instead of the milk. The flavour is all in the almond and spices.

I do not peel my pears before adding them to this recipe, as I like extra fibre. But feel free to peel them if you dislike the gritty skin.

Materials:

• 12 cup muffin tin, lightly greased
• mixing bowl
• electric hand mixer
• knife
• cutting board
• wooden spoon
• oven, pre-heated to 375F (190C)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup (375 mL) brown rice flour
• 1/3 cup (85 mL) potato flour/starch
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) tapioca starch
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) raw ground almonds
• 1/4 tsp (1.25 mL) xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) gluten-free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) baking soda
• 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) almond slivers, plus a few tbsp (30 or so mL) for decorating the muffin tops
• 2/3 cup (170 mL) fat-free plain yogurt (higher fat yogurt is OK too)
• 2/3 cup (170 mL) skim milk (your stores might call this fat-free milk)
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
• 1 large bosc pear, cut into small pieces about the size of a blueberry

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix together brown rice flour, potato flour, tapioca starch, ground almonds, almond slivers, xanthan gum, baking soda and powder, cardamom, cinnamon and brown sugar until the mixture is uniform. Make sure that all of the brown sugar has been broken up — do not leave clumps.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl.
3. With the electric mixer blend all the ingredients completely, until mixture is smooth.
4. Fold in pear pieces
5. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, top each muffin with a few slivered almonds.
6. Place in pre-heated oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until done.
7. When finished, remove immediately from muffin tin, place on a cooling rack to cool and ENJOY!

Per Serving: 213 Calories; 5g Fat (20.3% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 37g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; trace Cholesterol; 98mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

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