Making a Vegan, GF Muffin Oh-So-Cobblerific

This luscious bit of muffin-y goodness is somewhat based on the BabyCakes Ginger-Peach Corn Muffins recipe, except that I made a few key changes. Importantly, I turned it into a cobbler-muffin (or what John and I decided would be either a cobblin or a muffler -- you decide). That is, I loaded this baby up with a cobbler-like filling (hence the wee air hole toward the bottom of the photo).

Suffice to say, it's hardly your ordinary muffin. And, that's a nectarine, rather than a peach because the organic peaches in the stores here were unnaturally large and didn't smell like peaches. The organic nectarines, on the other hand, smelled like summer.

I also used a non-beany-based gf flour mix because I really don't enjoy the beany flavor in sweet baked goods. Because there were so many changes, I'm going to share my version here. Please let me know how yours turn out!

Summer Fruit Cobblins
Makes 12 standard muffin-sized cobbler-muffins

Ingredients
2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
6 medium-sized (smaller than a baseball) fresh nectarines scrubbed well, pitted and cut into 1-inch-ish pieces
The juice of one juicy organic lime
1/3 cup of the liquid sweetener of your choice (I used agave nectar. If you use maple or brown rice syrup, just remember that your muffins will have a maple or caramel flavor, which is fine. I'm sure it will taste great.)
3/4 cup of a non-beany, finely ground gf flour mix (I used King Arthur Flour's All-purpose GF mix, but you also could use Pamela's Artisan mix and it would be successful.)
1/4 cup blanched almond flour
1 cup corn flour (not corn meal; it's a very different experience, much less grainy)
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (although you don't have to use it; you could use chia or flaxmeal, although it might end up a bit crumbly -- try it and let me know)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger (dry ground)
1/2 cup very good, fruity olive oil (or if you don't like the flavor, use grapeseed oil)
3/4 cup liquid sweetener of your choice (I used agave nectar, but you could use maple or brown rice syrup)
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Whisk together the almond milk and vinegar. Put the mixture aside so it can become vegan "buttermilk."

2. Combine the nectarines, agave nectar, and lime juice, and stir until the fruit is well coated. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and pour the fruit and sauce into an 8-in. glass baking dish. Roast the fruit until it softens but doesn't burn or dissolve. It should take about 15 minutes. Let the fruit cool in the baking dish on a rack while you make the rest of the recipe. Set aside the "prettiest" 12 pieces you can find -- these will be the cobblin toppers.

3. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

4. In another bowl, mix together the liquid ingredients, then add them to the dry ingredients and mix the batter until smooth.

5. Turn down the oven to 325 degrees F and line your muffin pan with paper liners. Fill the liners half way with batter, then spoon a tablespoon or so of the fruit on top of the batter of each cobblin. Then add equal amounts of the remaining batter to each cobblin. Top each with one of the pretty fruit pieces you set aside earlier.

6. Bake the cobblins for 20-25 minutes until they are a lovely golden brown around the edges. Let them cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then out of the pan on a wire rack until cool enough to enjoy.

Here's a photo of what you should see inside: