Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Blueberry Muffins


Mmm. Blueberries and muffins go together so well. A nice sprinkle of lemon zest & sugar topping makes them beyond delicious. Just the perfect subtle taste of lemon when you bite in, but not enough to take away from the original goal. Now, one of my good friend's here at Fort Stewart has managed to show off my blog to a few people. One of those people just happened to be one of my husband's battle buddies. On a Saturday trip to the beach he asked if I could make blueberry muffins. Psh. Is there anything I can't make? Hello, master chef here. Obviously he didn't grasp the seriousness of my cooking abilities. So, I woke up this morning after my little shopping trip last night more than ready to begin my quest of creating delicious blueberry muffins. Now, this was my first experience purchasing or cooking with buttermilk. There is a first for everything! Now I need to google all the amazing things I can use it for, as to not let it go to waste of course. I think I actually may like cooking for people outside of the home more so than those within, just for the mere reason it's a good excuse to make it, try it, and give the rest away!

Ingredients:
Lemon Zest & Sugar Topping:
1/3 c. sugar
zest from one lemon

Blueberry Muffins:
1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries
1 1/4 c. sugar (and 2 tsp. sugar for another process)
2 1/2 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 tbl. butter (melted and cooled)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Directions:
Grease muffin pan and preheat oven to 375F. Zest lemon and mix with 1/3 c. sugar, set aside. Take 3/4 c. blueberries and rinse with cold water, set on paper towels to dry. Take remaining blueberries and cook over medium heat with 2 tsp. sugar. With masher, mash blueberries until almost all have broken. Cook for about 5 minutes until mixture has reduced into dark red/purple color. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt together. Add dried blueberries to dry mixture, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk 2 eggs and sugar together. Add melted butter and oil until mixed well. Lastly, mix in buttermilk and vanilla. With a spatula, fold in egg mixture to dry mixture. Batter should be lumpy. Take an ice cream scoop and fill cups 3/4 of the way full. Take a small spoonful of cooked blueberry mixture and with a fork swirl around top of muffin. Sprinkle with lemon sugar topping. Bake for 13 minutes. Allow to cool on cooling rack before removing from pan.

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