Blackberry muffins are your new easy gluten-free solution to your mornings!  Fresh juicy blackberries are folded into an almond flour and almond milk batter that is sweetened with honey and maple syrup.  Each muffin is topped with extra berries and almond slivers for the most moist delicious muffins with sweet crisp tops you will ever bite into!

What a whirlwind of a weekend.  I hope everyone had a great one!  I spent my weekend celebrating a good friend's birthday, baking these yummy gluten-free blackberry muffins, and taking a bit too much Benadryl before heading out to a friend's baby shower.  Whoops.  Add that one to the notebook of what not to do.  Next time take that lower dose dear, take the lower dose.

These gluten-free blackberry almond muffins smelled the whole house up with the sweetness of the blackberries and the smooth buttery smell from the almonds, making the house smell like a delicious heavenly bakery.  The combination of honey, coconut milk, and maple syrup helped to keep this recipe gluten-free but still tasting like it was full of gluten.

I made these muffins before taking the Benadryl and becoming loopy.  So I am pretty sure that the ingredients and instructions on these bad boys are correct 🙂  No, seriously, I've made these gluten-free blackberry muffins so many times I could make them in my sleep.

How do I make these Gluten-Free Blackberry Muffins?

It only takes 4 steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 350*.  Prepare a common muffin tin with either muffin cups, or grease it well if you are not using the muffin cups.
2. Mix all the ingredients (except for the sugar, blackberries, and almond slices) together in a large bowl until smooth. Fold in the blackberries.
3. Place the batter in muffin cups in muffin tins. Top with almond slices and sugar crumbles.
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a tooth pick placed in the center of the muffin, comes out cleanly.

Why blackberries for this muffin recipe?

Blackberries are a superfood.....

• Blackberries are high in fiber, vitamins like Vitamin C and K, and Manganese. 
• They may help boost your brain health due to the properties of antioxidants involved.
• Blackberries are juicy and delicious.  Big old fact.

How do I get the muffin batter into the muffin tin?

• Fill each muffin hole ⅔ full with blackberry muffin batter.  If you fill each hole too full the muffins will expand over the edges of the muffin hole and make a huge mess of your oven.  
• You can always use the old school way of spooning the batter into each muffin hole by the spoonful.  It can be a bit messy if you aren't careful but you can use a damp washcloth to wipe of any messes from your muffin tin before putting your muffins in the oven for an easier cleanup.
• Have you seen those fun batter dispensers?  They look like blenders that you can put your batter into.  Then when you squeeze the handle, a controlled amount of the batter squeezes out of the bottom!  Way less messy.
• Another option that I have done time and time again is filling a zippie bag with the batter and sealing the zipping mechanism.  Then, by cutting one of the bottom corners of the bag off, you've made yourself a makeshift batter dispenser.  Now all you need to do is squeeze the sealed bag while aiming the cut corner of the bag into the muffin hole you are trying to fill.  When you are done filling muffin tin holes or cups you can just toss the baggie.

Any Blackberry Muffin tips?

• You may find that this recipe makes more muffin batter than what will fit in your conventional muffin tin.  Place the extra batter in a mini muffin tin for multiple sizes of perfect muffins! 
• Do not overfill your muffin tin holes with batter.  This batter really rises up and expands while it bakes (and also will fall back down a touch once cooled and out of the oven).
• If you are making blackberry mini muffins you may not want to bake them for as long as the directions suggest.  Start monitoring the mini muffins around the 15 minute mark.  Ovens vary so much and I don't want you to burn your muffins.  Check every 2-3 minutes after the initial 15 minutes to check doneness.  
• The muffins are truly done when the tops are a nice golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin is pulled out and clean.

How can I make these blackberry muffins look fancy?

Here's a few ideas you can try:

• Place a fresh blackberry on the top of each muffin before it is placed in the oven and baked.
• Sprinkle the top of each muffin with almond slices.
• Top each muffin with a pinch of sugar.  I always do this now that I know about this!  When the sugar cooks, it creates this very thin layer of sweet sweet crunch when you bite into the muffin.  It makes each blackberry muffin just that much more gourmet feeling: both in taste and in texture!
• Top your muffin with a pretty little sliver of butter.  Use a very cold piece of butter and while using a butter knife, carefully carve off a thin slice of the butter.  Most butters will gently curl as you thinly cut down them, leaving you a beautiful rip curl of butter to place on top of your muffin.
• Try serving your blackberry muffins in different sizes.  You may find that this recipe makes more muffin batter than what will fit in your conventional muffin tin.  Place the extra batter in a mini muffin tin for multiple sizes of perfect muffins!  
• Place your muffins in fancy or fun muffin cups or tie each muffin in a piece of decorative yarn.

Want more gluten-free muffin recipes?

Well, all  you've got to do is ask:

• Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe
• Gluten-Free Blueberry Mini Muffins

Want more blackberry recipes?

I love that blackberries are a superfood!  Here are a couple other recipes that incorporate blackberries:

• Fall Peach Salad + Rosemary Maple Vinaigrette
• Gluten-Free Blackberry Cobbler