Sunday, June 10, 2007

Blueberry Muffins

Our Hero loves blueberry muffins. Actually, he loves anything blueberry. This being said, as blueberries appeared in earnest at the grocery store this Saturday, I couldn't resist buying him some of his favorite fruit.

In the same way that Our Hero loves blueberries, I love making muffins. They are so simple and last for days and can even be frozen and defrosted for a delicious weekday breakfast. There must be a million ways to make blueberry muffins. I've tried lots of ways (adapted from low-fat cookbooks to those of fancy celebrity chefs), and this particular recipe is my new favorite. I have very particular considerations about the kinds of muffins I favor:
1. 100% whole wheat without being heavy
2. Not overly sweet
3. Not packed with fat
4. Not soggy
5. Not rubbery

These muffins, adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything do the trick, perfectly. These muffins have a biscuit-like texture, with only the slightest hint of sweetness. The lemon zest gives them a subtle fragrance. Very important in the success of this recipe is the use of white whole-wheat flour. Traditional whole-wheat flour will be too heavy. Next time, I may replace the milk with buttermilk, for kicks.

100% Whole-Wheat Blueberry Muffins
3 T. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
2 cups white whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 t. fresh lemon zest
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries (frozen will work too)

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Mix together dry ingredients and lemon zest. In another small bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Make a well in the dry and add the wet. Stir until just combined. The batter should be thick but still wet. Add a little more milk if it seems too dry. Stir in blueberries, and divide among muffin cups. Serve warm with butter and/or raw unfiltered honey.

6 comments:

Pat said...

Ohhhh Those look Yummy!!! Just purchased some spelt wholemeal flour from the market last Saturday and I think these would go great together. Must get some blueberrys. They also had some spelt grain that you use like rice for making Rissoto, have you tried this grain?? sharphampark.com is where I got mine. I used some of the flour in my tomato bread I baked yesterday. Will let you know how the muffins turn out.

wellunderstood said...

they were really good. just as tasty warmed a bit for breakfast this morning!

hm, and spelt risotto? i think i'll have to give it a spin. tomato bread sounds intriguing!

kickpleat said...

i'm always looking for a good blueberry muffin recipe and i like the idea of a biscuit texture! yum.

Anonymous said...

At what temp and how long do you bake these? Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

I just made these muffins and they were DELICIOUS. I used half the sugar and added a little molasses instead. I cooked them on 350F for about 30 minutes, but my oven cooks really slow.

I also made a cinnamon-sugar crumble out of softened butter, cinnamon, sugar, and flour to top it off. Mix it all together w/ your hands until crumbly and sprinkle over the muffins before they go in the oven. The crumble gives the muffins a little more sweetness and spice.

Sam said...

Wow!! What a GREAT looking Blueberry Muffins! This dish looks so beautiful with the colours. It's a Very tempting and delicious recipe. Can't wait to see your posting, my mouth is watering. Will try it out soon. Thanks so much for sharing.