Pear Polenta Muffins

Hey Dharma Cakes... long time no bake huh? I've spent the last week and a half down with the flu (one of the many perks of student teaching and observations... you catch everything) so food in general was not happening, let alone baking.

Anyways... I've been feeling a bit better (basically I can breathe now) and I was in the mood for something other than a bowl of Chex cereal for breakfast; have I mentioned how excited I am about cinnamon Chex? It's awesome just so you know, and they are marketing it specifically for the gluten free lifestyle, which caught my attention. I had never seen a television commercial that was discussing living gluten free. Ok, back to the story now, I found myself visiting the Gluten Free Goddess's blog this morning after seeing a post for perfect pizza crust, so of course I had to get it to try out later in the week, and found myself perusing her selection of breakfast recipes. I was hit by the name of one of her muffins - Pear Polenta Muffins - and knew what I was making in the kitchen this morning.

The Gluten Free Goddess is amazing, truly she is a culinary goddess and an inspiration to the allergy foodie world. So it should not come as too much of a surprise that these muffins are delicious, and I am excited to try them with other fruit pairings as well. Because I can't help myself, I made a few slight modifications to the original recipe which you can find here, but either way, these muffins are rock star... tender with a slightly sweet grainy texture and juicy bites of pear... topped with a little soy free "butter" yum...


Pear Polenta Muffins

2 cups peeled, cored and diced ripe pears (2-3 depending on size) or you can use the equivalent of canned pears in natural fruit juice
3/4 cup ground cornmeal
3/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 ripe banana, mashed well
1/3 cup coconut milk (or non-dairy milk of choice)
3/4 cup organic raw sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12 muffin tin with liners. In a large bowl (I use my kitchen aid) combine the dry ingredients - cornmeal, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, sea salt, baking powder, and cinnamon; whisk until well blended. In your food processor puree the banana and blend with 1/4 cup of oil; add 1/3 cup coconut milk, sugar and vanilla; blend until smooth and creamy. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well blended. The batter should have the consistency of a thick muffin batter. Stir in the pears. Drop batter into the muffin cups by spoonfuls; distribute evenly among the twelve cups. Sprinkle the tops with raw sugar. Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until the muffins are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean. (mine took 25 minutes) Allow the pan to cool for a few minutes; then remove muffins from hot pan to prevent from getting soggy. Enjoy warm or cool for a tasty treat.
Makes 12 muffins

I'm thinking this recipe would be delicious with blueberries and a bit of lemon juice or with peaches...