Muffins

I was up at 5am because I didn’t sleep at all last night. I really wanted breakfast food but sadly, pancakes and waffles were out because we’re out of syrup, I drank the rest of the milk earlier so cereal was out, and I wasn’t in the mood for a bagel. Hmm…what to do, what to do? I’ve got flour, sugar, eggs, etc therefore I’m able to make something, so I looked up muffin recipes. Some used milk, so I had to scratch those, but I came across one that really caught my eye. It is from The Pioneer Woman aka Ree Drummond. She is known for her show on Food Network that showcases her recipes. I’ve watched the show before and she has some very intriguing ideas, but this is the first that I have found that I’ve tried. Blueberry muffins have got to be my favorite next to lemon poppyseed, so there was no question that I would like them. They have one really special ingredient though: yogurt. Seemed odd to me, but hey, if sour cream works in cakes, then what’s wrong with yogurt in muffins?

Unfortunately I did not document this process well, and I only have a picture of after they are baked. This was by far the THICKEST batter I have ever seen (as far as muffin batters go). Honestly, I was scared I had messed something up. After triple checking between the recipe and what I had put in the bowl, as well as checking against the pictures provided in the website, I decided that I’d give it a go and put them in the oven.

Here is the recipe via www.thepioneerwoman.com

 The Awesome-est Blueberry Muffins

3 cups minus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
Heavy pinch of salt
Dash of Nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 generous cup plain, unflavored yogurt (throw in extra if you want)
2 cups fresh blueberries
Vanilla Extract
Softened Butter, for muffin tins
Turbinado sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 385 degrees.

In a large bowl sift flour, baking soda, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.In another large bowl whisk together sugar, oil, cap-ful of vanilla, egg, and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients and stir to a count of 10. Add blueberries, reserving 1/2 cup, to mixture and stir 3 times. Add mixture to well-buttered muffin pans. Sprinkle remaining berries on top and press down lightly. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top. (Brown sugar can be used instead.)
Bake 20 to 25 minutes and allow to cool completely.


Well, I changed a few things (as I do a lot of times). Here are the changes I made: I used 3 full cups of flour, no nutmeg, no vanilla extract (I was out), and instead of plain yogurt I used vanilla. I figured vanilla yogurt would also help make up for the lack of vanilla extract. Everything got dumped into the bowl at one and mixed together with a fork. As stated above, it was a thick batter, and probably would be too thick for a mixer; also, I don’t like to do more dishes than necessary, so I only use the one bowl instead of splitting the dry and wet. I’ve never found that it makes a huge difference when it does get separated.

They took closer to 25 minutes to bake, but I always overfill my muffin tins and they always take longer to bake. I'm not a fan of tiny muffins. These were some of the best muffins I’ve ever had! Super crunchy on the outside (which I LOVE) and nice and soft on the inside. The blueberries were these amazing little pockets of juice. If you don’t want to use the extra sugar on top, there really is no need. I didn’t use the extra and they were perfectly crunchy. On the website, a blueberry sauce recipe is provided to spoon over the top of the muffins, but a smear of butter is fine too.

I will definitely be making these muffins again!