Blueberry Muffins

Life has somewhat gotten back to normal.  I was exhausted by the baby shower.  It took my quite a few days to recover from all the work that I had done.  It went okay.  Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of it at all since I was so busy getting the food together and taking care of all that.  However, I will say that I thought it was all quite tasty and I hope that everyone at the baby shower enjoyed it, too.

You know what else is super tasty?  These blueberry muffins that I made today.  I think they are out of this world.  And I've never really had a tasty homemade blueberry muffin.  Well, except perhaps for my Sunshine Muffins.  However, I think I like these even better and there are less ingredients!

It was not my intention to even write about these muffins.  Thus, you'll notice I did not take any pictures during the preparation process.  All I've got are the ones when they're done done done.  Mmm mmm mmm.  Dionne over at Try Anything Once wrote on the Facebook picture that I shared of these that she needed these badly.  So, I thought it was imperative to share this gem of a recipe :-) 

They are so blueberried!  I highly recommend using fresh blueberries and gently folding them in after the batter is made.  It was not too hard for me to accomplish that without breaking them, either!  I considered this a major feat :-)  I specifically searched for "buttermilk blueberry muffins" because I have a ton of buttermilk that I need to use.  I'm not sure why I bought a large carton.  But, I always find that buttermilk makes whatever I am making so much more moist!  

Anyway, I tinkered with the recipe that I found and think that I made a wise decision in deciding to add some almond extract.  It totally makes the muffin!  The slight almond flavor + the tart blueberries + the slightly  sweet batter = D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.  You have to try this recipe out!  And, as always, it took so little time to put everything together and get them into the oven!  As long as you have all the ingredients on hand, you're golden!

"To Die For" Blueberry Muffins

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups AP flour + 1/4 cup AP flour (3 cups total)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.  Line the muffin tins with liners.

2. In a bowl, combine the 1/4 cup flour with the blueberries.  Gently coat the blueberries with the flour and set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the rest of the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

4. Measure out 2/3 cup vegetable oil and add in the eggs; mix it together with a fork or whisk.  Then, mix in the almond extract.  Slowly pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix slowly.  

5. Add the buttermilk and mix everything until just incorporated.  *If you do not have buttermilk and do not want to run to the store to get some, you can either mix lemon juice and milk together or sour cream and milk together.  Just do so until you get some kind of curdled resemblance to buttermilk.*

6. Gently fold in the blueberries and flour with a rubber spatula.  *Try not to break up the blueberries.  It will result in a grayish-purple batter.*

7. Fill the muffin liners 3/4 of the way up with batter.

8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, check doneness with a toothpick, and remove from the oven.  Wait about five minutes before removing them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

I said on my Facebook that these looked like they were on steroids because of how high they poofed up!

Perfect to whip up in the morning for fresh muffins to have for breakfast or brunch.  I will admit--I had one for dinner ;-)

I've never made a muffin that was so simple to put together.  Now, I want to make some more.  You must, too!  The name of the muffins was already set but, I highly agree that they are to die for!  I'd have to say the blueberry muffins I like the most are from Otis Spunkmeyer.  Well, all I can say now is, "Move over, Mr. Spunkmeyer!"