Inspired by Trader Joe’s gluten free muffins, these cinnamon chocolate chip muffins are deliciously moist and easy to make!
Gluten Free Baking
Baking without gluten can be tricky sometimes because they don’t call it GLUE-ten for nothing! Gluten is an elastic protein that forms the structure of baked goods. So, without that important ingredient, making good gluten free cake and muffins can require a few tricks. Let’s talk about some unusual ingredients in these cinnamon chocolate chip muffins.
First off, if you’ve read any of my baking recipes, you know my love of Cup4Cup flour. If you are new to the GF baking world, or don’t feel confident baking generally, this flour will be your best friend. It’s designed to easily substitute into regular recipes without needing to make your own flour blends. It’s not cheap, but it’s well worth the price for tasty fresh baked treats.
Buttermilk is another ingredient that is used in sweet and savory baking. It adds fat as well as some acidity that will react with the baking soda and baking powder to get some rise. Think about a low key science fair volcano reaction happening in your batter!
Finally, the last odd ingredient in these cinnamon chocolate chip muffins is sour cream. You may be wondering what sour cream is doing in a sweet dessert. Sour cream will also provide some acidity like the butter milk. It is also another fatty ingredient that will keep these muffins soft and moist. Gluten free cakes and breads often get very dry and crumbly, so adding in plenty of fat and moisture keeps these muffins soft and fluffy.
Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins
These muffins are very easy to make, and the only special equipment you need is a muffin pan. If you have a stand mixer, it will speed up the process, but it’s not necessary. We are melting the butter in this recipe so everything can easily be mixed by hand.
We’ll follow the basic baking technique of combining the wet ingredients in one bowl and weighing out the dry ingredients in another. The best way to get better at baking is to weigh your ingredients. Baking needs to be precise, and using a kitchen scale makes sure you get just the right amount of everything. Then, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Then fold in the chocolate chips until they are incorporated.
The muffins bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on your muffins, and when they look golden brown test their doneness with a toothpick. A toothpick should come out of the center of the muffin clean meaning that all the batter has cooked and is no longer sticky. Cool and store in a airtight container (if they last that long!)
Modifications and Alternatives
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make an alternative by mixing lemon juice (1 tsp) into milk. This will acidify the milk and provide the acid that will interact with the baking soda and baking powder to get some rise. For an egg free option, you can make a flax egg or a chia egg by mixing 2 tbsp of ground chia or flax seed with 5 tbsp of water in a small bowl. Let the mixture sit for about five minutes until the mixture has thickened and use in the recipe like eggs.
This recipe is pretty dairy heavy with the additional sour cream, but you could use vegan butter as well as non-dairy milk acidified with 1tsp of lemon juice. You can substitute in vegan sour cream or use 3/4 cup of non-dairy milk with 1 +1/2 tsp of lemon juice. If you are looking for an amazing vegan muffin recipe check out these banana bread muffins!
Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- ½ tbsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour 300g
- 1 cup brown sugar + extra for topping 210g
- 1 tsp baking soda 4g
- 1 tsp baking powder 6g
- ¼ tsp salt 4g
- 2 tsp cinnamon 2g
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, sour cream. melted butter, and vanilla to a large bowl and mix to combine.
- Using a scale weigh out the dry ingredients and mix. If you do not have a kitchen scale, measure out the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and stir to combine.
- Mix about half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix well until there are no clumps.
- Add the chocolate chips and fold into the batter to evenly distribute.
- Using a lined muffin tin or a well greased pan, add the batter evenly to the muffin tin. The batter should yield 12 large muffins. Top the muffins with extra brown sugar for a crispy top.
- Bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Store in an airtight container for about 1 week .