Blueberry Muffins

How many posts does it take to make a trend? Should I switch my brainplan for peach-blueberry crisp to peach-cherry to avoid three posts on blueberries? Time will tell. In the meantime, there's brunch.

I disagree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day--brunch is the most important meal of the day. Something about eating breakfast foods at nearly midday makes it taste even better. Maybe it's that you got a full night of sleep or had time to sip your morning coffee instead of dropping it on the bus. Or maybe we just have more time to bake delicious breakfast foods like muffins for brunch.

 

Mondays are hard but Muffin Mondays are slightly better. These muffins were rapidly consumed by my coworkers, and fortunately not all by me. Some people even took three muffins (you know who you are)! Like I said, Mondays are rough.

I was proud of myself for remembering to soften the butter for this recipe, only to realize it required me to melt the butter anyways. One day my planning will work out. I also didn't even bother measuring the blueberries, the more the merrier!

 

After the butter is browned, it is added to the wet ingredients which in turn are added to the dry until combined. The blueberries are 'gently' folded into the batter but realistically, if you crush a couple, you're just making some blueberry swirls in those muffins. The topping is always the hardest part for me. I'm not a fan of using my fingers to cut up the butter so this time I tried a pastry cutter. It worked a little bit better, mostly because my hands were clean, but I still haven't mastered the crumbly consistency. If you don't get enough butter in a spoonful of topping, it just chills on top dried and doesn't melt into the muffin. Maybe that's why I prefer streusel toppings. Yes, next time I will make a topping resembling that of apple crisp. Because you can go wrong with that kind of butter all up in your face.

 

Sunday nights are usually filled with weekly prep: meal prep, mental prep, laundry prep. Take a moment and make some muffin prep. It will be oddly zen-like and delicious. Plus, you'll be that awesome person in the office making Mondays better. Go be a Monday hero!

 

Recipe from Joy the Baker

Ingredients for Muffins

• 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup of milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries

Ingredients for Topping

• 3 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• Cinnamon, nutmeg if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and line two muffin pans with cupcake liners (or spray with non-stick spray).
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan and allow it to 'cook' until it has browned. The crackling is a good thing and once that subsides, the butter will begin to brown and smell nutty.
3. Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. 
4. Mix the wet ingredients together in a small bowl. Once the butter has browned and has cooled slightly, you will add it to the milk and eggs. 
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
6. Gently fold the blueberries into the mixture. It's okay if you crush a couple, it will still taste yummy.
7. Spoon the muffin mix into the prepared pan so that most of the liner is filled.
8. Combined the flour, sugar and spices together in a bowl and use your fingers or a pastry cutter to work in the cold butter. Once the mixture is crumbly, you can add it to the top of the muffin to cover it.
9. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the muffins are cooked through and golden brown on top.