If you landed here first, there’s a story behind this recipe. It begins with an entire canister of baking powder on my kitchen floor, an old credit card, and the kind of muscle memory that drags a forty-year-old story out by the ankles. Different white powder. Considerably better choices.
Prep time: 40 minutes. Includes a little rest, a little piping, and a considerable amount of white powder.
Total cook time: 10-14 minutes
Yield: 24 mini or 12 regular
Difficulty: Confident. Pay attention for 5 minutes, then relax.
THE GEAR
Electric hand mixer—or a whisk and some conviction.
Muffin pan—go big (6) or go home (standard 12).
The scoop— jumbo or medium.
Kitchen scale—strongly recommended. Baking likes precision; I don’t make the rules.
A NOTE ON FLOUR
I bake gluten-free, and blend my own flour (happy to share), but any good GF blend will do nicely. Because it behaves differently than wheat, it needs hydration, extra structure, and a little patience.
If swapping for regular AP flour:
Omit the extra xanthan gum.
Reduce the yogurt slightly (start with 10g less).
Skip the rest period—wheat doesn’t need to “find itself” the way GF flour does.
THE INGREDIENTS
Dry Ingredients
240 g gluten-free AP flour blend
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp xanthan gum (see notes)
¼ tsp fine sea salt
¾ tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp whole milk powder - optional, but it’s a baker’s secret power move
Wet Ingredients
150 g sugar (I know this is dry - stay with me)
60 g butter (melted and cooled)
25 g neutral oil (sunflower, canola, or light olive oil)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
75 g whole milk yogurt
30g whole milk
Special Touch
Vanilla sugar (regular sugar is fine) for dusting muffin top pans.
THE SPECIAL TOUCHES
The Jelly
120–150g raspberry jam, or the jam of your questionable choosing.
White Powder
150–200g powdered sugar—more than seems reasonable, which is exactly right.
OPTIONAL FINISHING TOUCH
More powdered sugar for a second tumble after the first coating disappears into the muffin. It will.
THE STEPS
Prep: Preheat oven to 425°. Spray or oil your muffin pans, including tops and cups—we want a crispy undercarriage, and sprinkle with vanilla sugar (or regular).
Ready the Jam: Spoon the jam into a piping bag fitted with a filling tip. No piping bag or filling tip? A small plastic bag and a little snip of the corner will do.
Melt the butter: Slowly melt the butter for the muffins and let it cool—if it’s screaming hot, it’ll scramble your egg. Set aside.
Mix Dry: Whisk your flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, and optional milk powder in a medium bowl.
Mix Wet: Beat the eggs and sugar for 2–3 minutes until pale, thick, and fluffy. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter and oil while mixing. Add the vanilla to the yogurt and milk, pour into the bowl, and mix until just combined.
Combine: Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet, folding carefully—we don’t want to knock out our hard-earned aeration.
Give It a Rest: Cover and let the batter sit for 15 minutes—or roughly long enough to clean up the mess you just made. This gives the gluten-free flour time to hydrate, helps smooth out any grittiness and gives you that lift.
Grab a drink. A cup. A moment. Whatever.
Scoop: Fill the mini muffin cavities nearly full. For regular muffins, fill just past the brim—we want the slight spillover and the crispy edge.
Bake, Powder & Fill: Bake minis for 5 minutes at 425°, then reduce the heat to 375° and bake for another 5–8 minutes. For regular muffins, bake 7 minutes at 425°, then 10–15 minutes at 375°. Let them cool in the pan for 3–5 minutes, then tumble them—still warm—in powdered sugar. Pipe the jam into the bottom or side of each muffin until you feel a little resistance. Stop squeezing before pulling out the tip unless you want a tiny raspberry crime scene. Once cool, give them a second tumble in powdered sugar.
TIPS FROM THE KITCHEN:
I bake. I’m not a “baker”, so use your best judgment. I am sharing what I know works from my experience. These are muffins; they are hard to mess up, and nothing we do here will knock the world off its axis. Remember, baking should be fun!
The Pans: Mini muffins are the point here: more powdered sugar, more jam, more opportunities to pretend you’ll eat only one. A standard muffin pan works too.
Gluten-Free: Give the batter 15 minutes to rest. That is enough time to hydrate the flour, clean up your mess, and give you that lift.
Xanthan Gum: Even if your GF flour blend already includes it, add an extra ¼ teaspoon. Commercial blends are often stingy with the binders, and this small boost provides the structure needed for a proper rise.
Structure: Fill the cavities just past the brim. You want that slight spillover to catch the heat of the pan, creating a wide, golden-crisp edge that snaps when you bite it.
The Jam: Smooth jam pipes best. Raspberry gives you the classic doughnut moment, but strawberry, apricot, even a lemon curd, just pick one and go wild.
The Fill: Pipe the jam after baking. It gives you a proper center instead of a sticky little escape attempt through the bottom.
The Powder: The first coat will melt into the warm muffin. Let it. The second coat is where the a full crime-scene dusting.
The Oven: Ovens lie; yours is likely no exception. Start checking for doneness at the 14-minute mark to avoid a tragedy.
Make-Ahead: You can chill the batter overnight to improve the texture, but the muffins themselves are best eaten the day they’re baked. They won’t last that long anyway.
Storage: Store in a closed container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezer-Friendly: These freeze beautifully if you leave them unglazed. Wrap them individually, thaw at room temp when the craving hits, and proceed with your life.
SUBSTITUTIONS
There are substitutions for almost everything. I’ve had great luck with dairy-free options, but the possibilities are endless—milk alternatives alone could take up a whole post. If you’re looking for something specific, a quick search will point you in the right direction.
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