Thursday, February 17, 2011

Blueberry Muffins

One word to describe these muffins… “NOM”!

It was Valentine’s morning and I was in the mood to do something nice, and I figured breakfast in bed would be a nice change! So I quietly scurried from the room, down to the kitchen to clang around. I really had a hankering for Blueberry muffins! The bummer is, as we get into the winter months fresh blueberries aren’t always close at hand! If you remember my Blueberry Upside-Down cake from back in the summer you’d remember that The Boss and I did some berry picking and may or may not have “over picked”, leaving us with about 2 gallons of frozen blueberries! Thus, I will crack into the stash!

First step is to cook down about a cup and a half of frozen blueberries. Basically we are making a blueberry filling for the muffins; this gives them a really great flavor boost and helps keep them from drying out while hanging out on the counter (though mine rarely ever last that long!).

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There was about 1Tbsp added to the frozen berries, and that was it, let the heat do the rest as they boil down and thicken.

While all that is happening on the stove top, I get the rest of the goods together. First set the oven to heat up to 350. Because I wasn’t thinking the night before to take out a stick of butter I had to soften the butter in the microwave. Careful, this is an important set that can be a game changer for the recipe! If the butter is either too melty or too hard it’s going to affect the way the ingredients adhere to the fats and changes the consistency of the batter which ultimately effects the fluffiness of the muffin! So for your microwaving needs, in order to gauge if your butter is in fact “softened” or at room temperature, you should be able to gently push you finger into the butter and the butter be able to hold the impression!

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Go ahead and add 1cup & 2Tbsp sugar and 2 large eggs to the mixing bowl, using paddle attachment work together until light and fluffy. Then drop in 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, and the 4tbsp of softened butter; stir until combined.

The next step calls for Buttermilk. Well, if I didn’t think to take out a stick of butter the night before, I certainly didn’t swing by the grocery to grab a carton of butter milk! A really easy substitute for buttermilk is Milk and white vinegar. 1 cup of milk plus 1Tbsp white vinegar (or lemon juice) will do the job, and for the most part, everyone has milk and either of the acids hanging out in the house. So lets get 1 cup of buttermilk mixed up with 1.5 tsp of vanilla and combine with batter.

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Next step, in a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients and then add to batter. Do not over work the batter; batter should look lumpy with clumps of dry flour. Dry ingredients include: 2.5cups of all purpose flour, 2.5tsp baking powder,& 1tsp salt. ** I also opted to add 1tsp of cinnamon and 1/2tsp of cloves. Nutmeg would also be great option- it’s just what you like**

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Try not to eat all the batter, I promise the baked goods are worth the wait! Go ahead and measure out 1 heaping cup of blueberries and fold them into the batter. Then scoop out the batter into the muffin pan, this batch should yield about 1.5 dozen muffins.

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We are almost done! Remember the blueberry jam we made earlier? It’s time to deploy the goodness! Using a butter knife create little wells in the muffin batter, and then with a teaspoon measure scoop out the blueberry sauce and fill up the wells. Last but not least, and this is optional yet highly recommended, I sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a little white sugar! Now Bake! 15-17 minutes.

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Then EAT!IMG_7441

And eat we did! I used a little creativity to make a serving platter, and managed to get the goods up to the bedroom to where the Boss was still sleeping soundly!

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Have you done something nice lately? Go ahead… give these muffins a whirl, you will not be disappointed!

The Recipe:

Berry Filling:
1 heaping cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp sugar

Muffins:
1 cup & 2Tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
4 tbsp of softened butter
** 1 cup of buttermilk
1.5 tsp of vanilla
2.5 cups of all purpose flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp of Cinnamon (optional)
1/2 tsp Cloves (optional)
1 cup Blueberries (Fresh or frozen, and Heaping is always good!)

5 comments:

Jayne said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

These look fabulous! I'm definitely going to have to make these some time!

Tami said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

can you type out the recipes at the end of the post to make it easier for us! ha, i know I can just cut and paste but I figured I would ask.

Christi said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

I wish I had just a little bit of your cooking talent!

Lisa said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

These look like the best blueberry muffins ever! Love the idea of putting the berries in as a yummy filling. I have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog right now called "Sweets for a Saturday" and I'd like to invite you to stop by and link your muffins up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/02/sweets-for-saturday-5.html

Danielle in Iowa in Ireland said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Do you have any suggestions on how to soften butter in a microwave-less home? I never think that far ahead, but alas I think I might have to get better at that...

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