Rich Glazed Poppy Seed Muffins and Featherlight Rice Flour Mix

I've been wanting to try another rice flour mix for awhile and finally got around to it.  It's from Bette Hagman's book "The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread" and it's called Featherlight Rice Flour Mix.  I tried it with these muffins, and I think it's even better than the basic Gluten-free Flour Mix -- they were lighter than ever!  (OK, I can hear you asking, "Didn't we just do poppy seed muffins???"  Yes, but more about that in a minute.)  So here's the recipe for the new flour mix:

Featherlight Rice Flour Mix - 12 Cups
4 Cups rice flour
4 Cups tapioca flour
4 Cups cornstarch
4 Tbsp potato flour (this is potato flour, not potato starch)
Mix together and store in a container in your pantry.  Incidentally, since you're not using a lot of the potato flour, you won't have to buy much, but you do need to remember to store it in your freezer or refrigerator. 

I decided to do a "part two" on the muffins, because I wanted to share this particular recipe with you.  It takes more time than the muffins made with the Minute Muffin Mix, so you'll want to factor that in, but these muffins are sweeter, richer, glazed, and totally yummy.  They are wonderful with a main dish salad for a luncheon or dinner, or they could be offered with some fresh fruit for a delightful dessert!  Or just eaten all by themselves when you're craving a little sweet something :).  And there's always Mother's Day coming up -- they'd be great for brunch!

Rich Glazed Poppy Seed Muffins

3 Cups GF flour mix (try the Featherlight Mix!)

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 Cup poppy seeds

grated peel of one lemon

Mix together in a bowl and set aside.

1 Cup sugar

3/4 Cup butter

1 Cup + 2 Tbsp sour cream

Put in a large bowl and cream together.

3 eggs -- add one at a time to cream mixture, beating well after each addition.

juice of 1/2 lemon

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

Add to cream mixture, beating well.  Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture.  Mix well.  Prepare muffin tins:  either grease tins well, or line with paper cups and spray lightly with vegetable oil spray.  Spoon batter (it's very thick) into prepared tins to a slightly rounded top in each cup.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top and a toothpick poked in center of muffin comes out clean.  While baking, prepare glaze:

Citrus Glaze for Poppy Seed Muffins

juice from one lemon

1/4 Cup orange juice

1/4 tsp lemon extract

1-1/2 Cups powdered sugar

Beat together.

When muffins are done, remove from oven and let cool slightly.  Remove muffins from tin and/or paper cups and place on wire rack over wax paper (for easy cleanup).  Spoon glaze over still warm muffins.  Let cool completely.  Makes about 16 muffins.

Mmmm-mmmm, good!  I would imagine that if you like this recipe you could substitute just about anything you wanted (i.e. blueberries, dried fruit, nuts, you get the picture) for the lemon peel, poppy seeds, and lemon juice and create your own favorite muffins.  If you didn't want a citrus glaze for your new ingredients, you could use a plain glaze of 1 Tbsp soft butter, 1/4 Cup milk or water, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1-1/2 Cups powdered sugar.  If you have any left over (yeah, right) you can put them in the microwave for 10 seconds to get them fresh-from-the-oven warm again, or freeze them for later use.