Slacker Jill finally gets on the ball.....

Ya, I know, I've been slacking lately. Now to my defense...my dear sweet husband decided to crash and burn on his dirt bike. That being said, I have now become the full time employee for our Realtor Sign installing business. SOooooOooo...that means I've been driving from one end of UT to the other putting in signs from sun up to sun down. Not a lot of time left for creating and sharing scrumptious gluten free bites.

Now that I have that off my chest. I MUST share this recipe with you. I will say, it has an interesting ingredient, but I assure you...if you try it...you will like it ;) Wanna know what that secret ingredient is???

Cantaloupe. Yep. Pureed cantaloupe. That lovely peach fleshed melon that is ever so popular at farmer's markets or in your garden. I came up with this recipe a while back to use up the bounteous crop my father grew. The pureed fruit also adds moistness and cuts out most of the oil. 

Ok, so, here be the Cantaloupe Ginger Muffins. Oh and yes...I HAD to add ginger in there...LOVE that stuff ;)

Start out by preheating your oven to 350 and lining 12 muffin tins with muffin papers. Then begin peeling and cubing your cantaloupe. Place a handful or two in the blender and puree. You will want a total of 1 cup pureed melon. So just keep adding and blending until you have that amount.

Next sift together the following dry ingredients:

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

Set aside.

Now cream together 2 eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

The last step is to alternate adding a bit of the dry ingredients and the pureed cantaloupe. Add until all ingredients are incorporated. Don't fret, the batter will be quite liquidy.

For the topping, add together the following ingredients in a bowl:

1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons brown rice flour

1 1/2 tablespoons sweet rice flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger 

Using a fork, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a nice crumbly texture. Using your fingers sprinkle the topping over the unbaked muffins. Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean :)

That my friends...is how you make cantaloupe ginger muffins gluten free :) Oh and if your wondering why there is no xanthun gum...well, it's because this recipe does not need it. I promise. The muffins hold together nicely all by their little selves :)

Don't they look scrumptious? Well....they are. Don't take my word for it. Get yourself some melon and make em for yourself ;)