Blueberry Muffins

I'm sooooo behind on any craft posting.  I'm trying to get caught up...on life.  Hopefully I'll get a few projects I've done around here posted soon!  Here's a start. :)

My kids told me they wanted blueberries in their lunch last week.  Everyday their lunches came home with blueberries untouched!  So, I stopped putting them in and decided I'd bake something with blueberries instead.  I did a quick search on my Big Oven app (love it) and found this yummy recipe for blueberry muffins.  It was a little more involved than I was expecting but everyone enjoyed them!

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh blueberries (picked over and rinsed), divided

1 1/8 cups sugar plus 1 teaspoon

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 oz) Unbleached all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

2 large EGGS

1/4 cup unsalted butter - melted and slightly cooled

1/4 cup Vegetable oil

1 cup Buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla extract

4 teaspoons turbinado sugar

Preparation:

Place oven rack in upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray standard twelve-cup muffin tin with nonstick vegetable cooking spray: set aside. 

In a small saucepan set over medium heat, combine one cup of the blueberries and one teaspoon sugar and bring to a simmer. Use a spoon to smash berries and stir frequently while cooking until berries have broken down, mixture has thickened and reduces to about 1/3 to 1/4 cup. Remove pan from heat; set aside and let cool to room temperature. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Sprinkle a scant tablespoon of flour mixture over remaining cup of blueberries and toss to coat; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining sugar and eggs until mixture is pale yellow, thick and fluffy. While whisking, slowly pour in melted butter and oil and mix well. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until completely incorporated. Using a spatula, gently fold egg mixture and remaining cup of (flour coated) blueberries into flour mixture until just incorporated. (Batter should be lumpy with some small sprays of dry flour still visible; DO NOT overmix.) 

Using a portioning scoop or large spoon, distribute batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should fill cups and mound slightly). Place at least a teaspoon of cooled berry mixture in center of each batter-filled cup, and gently push it below surface. Use a bamboo skewer or large toothpick to gently swirl berry mixture into batter to spread concentrated berry flavor throughout muffin. Sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over batter. 

Place in oven and increase temperature to 425 degrees F. Bake muffins until tops are golden and just firm (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean), about 17 to 19 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time for even baking. Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Invert muffins onto wire rack, stand muffins upright, cool 5 minutes longer, and serve warm. Muffins will keep for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container.

The cooked blueberries on top

then swirled

Baked and ready to eat with bacon, of course!

Enjoy!

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Two of my favorite things: lemons & blueberries!  

I bought the big container of blueberries at Costco and they weren't getting eaten as fast as they should so rather than letting them go bad I found a delicious recipe to bake.  You can make two loaves or one bunt cake.  I chose to make the bunt cake because it looks prettier. :)

Lemon Blueberry Cake Recipe

• 1 cup butter (1/2 pound), softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons lemon peel, grated fine
• 4 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder powder
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, a bunt pan or 5 mini pans with vegetable spray.

Combine flour and baking powder in a separate bowl and set aside.

Using a high-speed mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar, salt and lemon peel until creamy and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape bowl often.

Add eggs, beating well. Scrape again. Add flour mixture, beating and scraping.

Take bowl off mixer and pour in the milk. Fold all ingredients with a spatula until mixed well. Gently mix in blueberries. Pour into prepared pan(s).

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until tops are lightly browned and knife comes out clean.

Meanwhile, start making the lemon syrup. Keep syrup warm. It can be reheated later.

Cool at least 5 minutes in the pan(s). Prick the cakes all over with a fork or skewer.

Lemon Syrup Recipe:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions for Lemon Syrup

• Combine sugar and lemon juice in small saucepan and cook over medium heat just until it comes to a boil, being careful not to burn.
• The sugar needs to be completely dissolved. Remove from heat.
• Keep syrup warm until cakes are ready to be brushed and soaked.
• Reheat syrup if necessary. It is important to pour hot syrup over the cakes, otherwise it won't get into all the nooks and crannies.

• Pour and brush equal amounts of lemon syrup over the tops of the tea cakes making sure that you get all surfaces coated. Let some drip down into the bottom of the pans.
• Leave the cakes in the pans if they are decorative and disposable, or carefully pop them back out immediately otherwise they will stick.
• Let cool on wire racks completely before wrapping.
• These cakes freeze well. Enjoy!
• Yields 2 large loaves.

Sugary mixture - yum!

Ready to bake

Delish!

Enjoy!

Turkey Bacon Muffins

My friend is hosting a give-away on her blog, Edible Nutrition, so I decided to participate.  All you have to do is make a recipe using turkey bacon and send her a review with a picture.  I made the recipe posted on her blog that Denise Austin makes for her family from the Kraft website.


Recipe:
Ingredients

12 slices OSCAR MAYER Turkey Bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1-1/4 cups flour

1 cup quick-cooking oats

2 tsp.  CALUMET Baking Powder

1/2 cup fat-free milk

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large egg whites

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Mix bacon, flour, oats and baking powder in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; stir just until moistened. (Batter will be lumpy.)

SPOON batter into paper-lined muffin pan or muffin pan sprayed with cooking spray, filling each cup 2/3 full.

BAKE 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate or freeze any leftover muffins.

Enjoy!

Linking to:
Today's Creative Blog

Blueberry Ripple Coffee Cake

I haven't been feeling well lately so I haven't been doing much around here.  I do have a few ideas so stay tuned.  I hope to get creative in the next week or so!

My girlfriends and I are going away for the day and night.  And by away I mean downtown. :)  I'm so excited despite how yucky I feel.  To celebrate Mother's Day tomorrow morning with some of my best friends I made this delicious Blueberry Ripple Coffee Cake.  I can't wait to have some tomorrow morning with a mimosa and then come home and kiss my babies!!

Recipe:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/3 TBL cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 1/4 cup blueberries - I use the whole frozen bag which is approx 2 cups
1 box white cake mix

Mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt & butter in a medium bowl.  Set aside.  Prepare cake mix according to directions.  Sprinkle 1/2  of sugar mixture and 1/2 of pecans over bottom of greased 13X9 pan.  Spread cake batter evenly over sugar mixture.  Sprinkle berries and remaining sugar mixture and pecans over cake batter.  Using a knife fold berries and sugar mixture into cake batter for ripple effect.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until done.

I like the pecans fine so I grind them in the mini processor. 

Sugar and butter - YUM!

First layer

Second layer

Ready for the ripple effect

Rippled!

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

I love chocolate, bananas and baking.  Combine them all together and you get the perfect combination: Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins.  This is one breakfast my kids certainly enjoy!

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour (I use 1 cup unbleached flour & 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon 

1/8 tsp salt

dash of cloves

1 egg

1 cup banana (3 medium)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup oil

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. In a medium bowl combine flour baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, 1/8 tsp salt and dash of cloves.  Make a well in the center.

2. Combine egg, bananas, sugar and oil using beaters.  Stir until moistened (lumpy).

3. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Fill greased muffin tins.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm!

My taste tester approved!

Rodeo Pancakes

Growing up in San Antonio I went to the rodeo just about every year around this time of the year.  Well, maybe not the actual rodeo where the cowboys are riding bulls and competing but I remember walking around the fairgrounds and the stockyards looking at the animals.  Sometimes we got to go to the actual rodeo and go to a concert, like Ricky Van Shelton or Alan Jackson or Reba, to name a few (I realize I just let some of you know how old I might be).  Then in high school for at least one year the dance and drill team got to be escorts and seat everyone at the rodeo so we got to see quite a few shows that year (one being Linda Ronsdant, not my fave).  I'm pretty sure that ended when Ms. Cantu left Madison.  I digress, I've been watching a lot of my San Antonio peeps (I moved after college) update their Facebook statuses with postings about the rodeo and this year I actually miss it.  This morning I started to think "How can I teach my kids a little about the rodeo?"  Ah ha!  I'll make pancakes and use the cowboy cookie cutters!  I was so excited, much more than my kiddos.  I told my four year old all about the rodeo and compared it to the State Fair, which is probably better to some but it's bigger and more crowded (but I do love it).  I think my four year would LOVE the rodeo all because of her current favorite shoes...cowgirl boots!  Don't be confused, they're not cowboy boots because she's a GIRL and they're white and PINK.  Back to the pancakes...I just used my regular stand-by Aunt Jemima whole wheat mix, warmed my pan, sprayed the pan and cookie cutters (have to be metal) with PAM, placed the cutters on the pan and filled with 1/4 cup of batter.  After they started to bubble I flipped the whole thing including the cutter over and then after they were finished I used an oven mitt to remove from pan and gently pushed the pancake out with a fork.  My kiddos prefer whipped cream rather than syrup so I put a little on each pancake and they were delish!

Cowboy pancake

Cowboy hat pancake