When Dan and I moved in to our first apartment, I raided my mom’s recipe box. There were a lot of recipes I’d never seen before, and hadn’t been made in at least 21 years. One of the long-forgotten recipes was for these piña colada muffins! They quickly became a staple in our house, but we didn’t know about my gluten sensitivity. When we discovered I was gluten sensitive, these (and many other recipes) got filed away for “later.”

Then, just the other day, I decided I wanted to give them a try! Several recipes I’ve converted to gluten free taste like the gluten free flour, and I was hoping these particular muffins might have enough flavor to disguise it. They do! These muffins have the exact taste and texture we remember, but none of the gluten! Now, on to the recipe!

Tbs = tablespoon; tsp = teaspoon

Gluten Free Piña Colada Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg, large
• 5 Tbs margarine (or butter), softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp rum extract
• 3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour
• 3/4 cup gluten free oat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8oz can of crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1/2 cup dry coconut shreds

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a muffin pan. I do not recommend making mini-muffins, as the pineapples and coconut won’t be evenly distributed.
2. Make sure the margarine is softened, but not melted. Do not drain the pineapple, as the recipe relies on the moisture.
3. Beat together: sugar, egg, margarine, sour cream, rum extract. Start by combining the sugar and margarine, and when they’re combined well (it should look like a bunch of small pebbles) add the rest. This can be done either by hand or with a mixer.
4. Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
5. By hand, mix in the flour. Stir to combine, but do not over mix. The batter will look very dry at this step.
6. Fold in the can of pineapple and the shredded coconut (sometimes called flaked coconut). The batter will be much wetter, and you shouldn’t see large clumps of flour anymore. (There will be a lot of lumps due to the pineapple and coconut.)
7. Divide batter into twelve muffins, bake for about 20 minutes.
8. The edges and top will start to brown. You can either use a toothpick to check if they’re done (it will come out clean when inserted in the middle), or use the bounce test: poke at a muffin and it will bounce back into shape immediately.

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If you eat gluten:

• Use 1/4 cup (4 Tbs) of margarine/butter instead of 5 Tbs
• Use 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

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These are a perfect recipe for spring and summer! While they don’t taste exactly like piña coladas, the pineapple and coconut have some serious vacation vibes. (The vacation feel helps to brighten up winter days, as well.)

I’m so happy that the gluten free version turned out so well, and I am looking forward to adding these back into our list of staples!

To check out other recipes, click here or visit the Food & Recipes page from my menu. These gluten free Spritz cookies are another converted recipe that you can’t tell are gluten free!

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