SUPER BLUEBERRY LEMON MUFFINS
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Tastes like Spring sunshine! Soft, tender, cakey muffins with blueberry-in-every-bite-innards and a sparkly, buttery, lemon sugar crown.
I know, right?! Yum!
This is one of my lonnngg-time, stand-by recipes that I have been making forever.
In my olden days, I was gloriously influenced by what was, at the time, THE cookbooks. You might say, the Best of Bridge series set the standards for Canadian cookbooks. The recipes were (are), if not straightforwardly easy, definitely user friendly and enticingly do-able.
So I did! I think we all did. From Cashew Pork Tenderloin, Mexican Antipasto, Death to Dieters Chicken Lasagna to Eggnog Supreme and Whipped Shortbread, and back again. From down home comfort, to impressive dinner party goodies, to cherished holiday recipes.
And of course, let's not forget that little added je ne sais quoi.......every one of the books in this series is sprinkled with smile inducing little quips.
Stick float. They wood.
There is one advantage in being married. You can't make a fool of yourself without knowing it.
A boiled egg is hard to beat!
Summer is that time of year when children slam the doors they left open all winter.
Thanks oodles Best of Bridge ladies for the amazing gift of being able to cook happy and end up with deliciousness every time, decades later.
And Mom, up there, for sparking the passion to cook, bake and make......besides all the effortless inspiration you imparted to keep on hand-crafting lusciousness, as often as possible, thanks for plying me with every new Best of Bridge cookbook as soon as it came out.
Which brings us back to blueberry muffins, from 'Enjoy' the second cookbook compiled by the Best of Bridge ladies, first published in August 1979.
I'm not kidding either, these golden muffins, kissed with deep purple stains, really do taste like sunshine. And they talk, too. Huh? Yup!
When you take the perfectly crusted, baked muffins out of the oven and set them on the counter to cool, before long you'll hear a bit of a whisper.
"Pardon," said I today to Forest Grump, forgetting that my muffins were on the counter cooling.
"I didn't say anything", replied Forest Grump.
"Aaaaahhhh, that's okay", I said, "it was the muffins."
'Uhh-huhh!', said Forest Grump silently relaying the sentiment with body language only........a strange enlarging of his eyes, raising of his eyebrows, and then dismissively turning away from me.
Louder now, from the counter top, "Adorn us! Please, Juuuudiiii adorn us!"
Right-o! Time to dip, swirl, swoop and....Ta-da!!.....sugary, lemony, buttery, sparkly crowns. Adorned!
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You may notice that beautiful board that my muffins are lazing on.
A big thanks to Ann & Moe from Thibeault's Table for their amazing
hand-crafted wooden cutting boards and table art.
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SUPER BLUEBERRY LEMON MUFFINS - Makes 12
The only thing I've changed from the original recipe is that I cut back on the melted butter in the topping, just a bit, so that I can add the juice of the 1 lemon that I use for zest in the muffins. And I up the quantity of blueberries, a bit.
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 very generous cup fresh blueberries (frozen work fine too)
Topping:
1/3 cup butter, melted
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in large bowl. Beat egg in medium sized bowl, add milk and butter. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed (batter will be lumpy). Stir in blueberries. Fill muffin pans 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Topping: Combine melted butter and lemon juice in small bowl. Measure sugar in separate dish. Take slightly cooked muffins and swirl and swoop into lemon butter and then sugar. Ta da! Adorned and ready to scarf down.
And in the 'Bestselling' words of the ladies of the Best of Bridge, "ENJOY!"