Years ago I wrote for a cooking website group which included the Just Baking Blog. Those websites are now defunct, but from that time, this Hazelnut Blueberry Muffins recipe was shared with Go Dairy Free by fellow Just Baking writer, Allen Williams.
Allen came across his great-grandmother’s recipe for blueberry muffins while rummaging through his mother’s recipe box. He made the muffins and instantly fell for the delicate, moist consistency. But a spontaneous discovery of hazelnut flour / meal at the grocery store resulted in a new twist. These hazelnut blueberry muffins use his great-grandmother’s base recipe but have a double nutty infusion.
These hazelnut blueberry muffins turned out well, as moist and light as I remember. The hazelnut flour added a very slight nutty flavor and nice dark flecks of color to the muffin itself. The chopped hazelnut topping provides a crunchy contrast to the texture. Next time, I might increase the lemon zest by another teaspoon. Also, I don’t suggest that ‘more is better’ when it comes to adding the blueberries. I had an extra 1/4 cup or so that I threw in and it compromised the structure of the muffins (a few fell apart when being removed from the muffin tin). Enjoy the recipe — I’ll definitely make them again! And although I love the original blueberry muffin recipe, I’m sure my great-grandmother would approve of this new version.
Special Diet Notes: Hazelnut Blueberry Muffins
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, and vegetarian.
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup hazelnut flour / meal
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup unsweetened dairy-free milk beverage (your choice of type)
- ¼ cup melted non-hydrogenated shortening or coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- 1 cup blueberries
- ¼ cup chopped hazelnuts
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease 12 muffin cups.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk beverage, shortening or oil, egg, vanilla, and lemon zest and stir until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the blueberries.
- Fill the prepared muffin cups about ¾ full with the batter. Sprinkle the tops with chopped hazelnuts.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean (aside from blueberry!). Allow to cool before removing from muffin tins.
