Chai Blueberry Muffins

I adore muffins... and have a passion for ALL berries. Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Boysenberries... you name it. ( In fact I hate to admit it, but I have felt a little heart sore that berry season has ended. I was in heaven all summer.) When I saw this post on Chai-Berry Muffins... I was on a mission to make them Gluten Free. I have been in desperate need for a "go to Gluten Free Muffin", and I am happy to say VICTORY is FINALLY mine!

I played with this recipe many times. The first time I made it with regular all purpose flour, and I tested them... they of course were wonderful. Light, Fluffy and the "Chai" flavor adds a lovely fall touch.

Pamela's makes a terrific Gluten Free Baking Mix. It does already contain Baking Powder and Soda (1tsp baking powder & 1/4 tsp baking soda per cup) I made the appropriate adjustments & was so thrilled to have success! (the first time I tried this mix, I didn't realize I needed to adjust the ingredients.... and BOY was that a disaster! Oops)

I am going to post Elle's recipe with my adjustments (in green).. so that you can use the recipe either way you would like. They really are wonderful.... I served them to my Gluten eating family and they all loved them.

*note- I could not find Chai Spice at the store. However, you can mix 50% Chinese Five Spice & 50% Cardamom to get the Chai Flavor in a pinch.

Chai-berry Muffins-
makes 12

2 cups flour (2 cups Pamela's)
2 tsp baking powder (no baking powder added)
1 tsp baking soda (1/2 tsp baking soda)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp chai spice blend (3/4 tsp Chinese Five Spice & 3/4 tsp Cardamom)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Danon Light and Fit Vanilla)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 pint blueberries
3/4 cup chopped pecans (I left the nuts out..)

Heat the oven to 350°. Grease a 12 muffin tin.
In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
To a larger bowl, add the oil, yogurt, sugar and vanilla, mix well with a hand mixer or by hand.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine a bit.
Grab a rubber spatula and fold in the berries and nuts.
Fill the muffin tins--an ice cream scoop makes for more evenly sized muffins, and it's much neater than a spoon.
Bake for about 25 minutes and check. They should be golden brown and a tester should come out clean.
Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes or so, then run a knife around the muffins, and turn them out on the
rack to cool.