For the Love of Dewberries: Lemon Scented Dewberry Muffins

One of the fondest memories I have of my father involves picking wild dewberries in the summer.  It was usually after softball practice that we would stray beyond the manicured field into the “wild” vegetation and hunt for dewberry vines.  We call them dewberries down here in Texas, but they are known as wild blackberries elsewhere.  They have a distinct tartly sweet taste that is not found in the blackberries you buy in the grocery store.  Though they have a lot of seeds in proportion to their small size, the flavor is completely worth it. 

The trail I walk on close to my home is lined with thorny dewberry vines displaying their bright purple and red jewels.  To be quite honest, I find it hard to concentrate on doing much else than staring at them or stopping to pick some as a little snack every walk I go on during their short season.  Several weeks ago I brought a bucket to the trail and decided to pick as much as I could manage.  Despite several thorny splinters and scratches, I was able to pick 6 pounds. 

Having a mound o’ dewberries staring me in the face inspired me to use them right away in a tasty breakfast muffin.  They are studded with dewberries, brightened with lemon zest, and sweetned with wildflower honey.  If you can’t pick your own dewberries, any berry will work nicely.

Lemon Scented Dewberry Muffins (gluten free)

*since almond meal is used instead of flour, these muffins are very dense and moist.  Be careful not to add more than the called for amount of dewberries as it will make the batter too moist and the muffins will not bake or set correctly. 

makes 6 muffins

2 cups almond meal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warmed
1/4 cup wildflower honey
zest of 1 lemon
about 1/2 cup of dewberries

Preheat your oven to 350F and line your muffin tin with paper liners.

Mix the dry ingredient together in a small bowl.  Combine the wet ingredients along with the lemon zest in a separate medium sized bowl. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.  Gently fold in the dewberries last, making sure not to break them up too much.  If you are worried about getting blue and purple streaks throughout the batter, freeze the berries first.  Bake 25-30 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the muffin is baked through.  Enjoy!