Blueberry Muffins

As summer is coming to a end here and fall weather is making it’s way, I have been trying to squeeze in all of the summer dishes and outside fun as I possibly can. I love using fresh fruit during the summer when the fruit is at it’s peak ripeness. I think that is what makes spring and summer so fun. You get to enjoy all of the fresh fruits and berries. This is one thing that I truly miss during the fall/winter but hey, that is why they have frozen fruits right? lol… anyway, let’s get to making these summer berry filled muffins.

INGREDIENTS:

3 1/2 cups flour – sifted ( reserve 3 tbsp)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 1/2 tsp baking powder – sifted
1 tsp baking soda – sifted
1/2 tsp fine salt
2 cups buttermilk – room temp
1 stick of butter – melted and cooled
zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon (optional)
2 eggs – room temp and slightly beaten
2 cups (1 pint) blueberries- rinsed clean

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 350*. In a bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to combine and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together the buttermilk, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and beaten eggs until well combined.
3. Combine the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir/fold together until well combined.
4. Add the reserved flour to the blueberries and fold together to coat the blueberries. Add to the batter and fold in until well combined.
5. Using an ice cream scoop or spoons, fill your muffin tins 3/4 of the way up. This makes about 20 muffins depending on the size of the muffin tins you’re using. Bake at 350* for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and are cooked completely through.
6. Remove and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week or chilled in the fridge for 2 weeks. You can freeze for up to 2 months.

• You can top the muffins with a bit of wheat germ for a bit of crunch on the top. I love doing this with most of our muffins. I think it tastes so good.
• You can also top it with a bit of oats as well. I do this most often with our fall and winter style muffins but have occasionally topped these muffins with oats.
• If you do not have fresh berries that’s ok……You can use frozen. Just mix the batter with out the berries and add the berries to the batter after you fill your muffin tins. This helps to keep the batter from turning blue. The berries will settle a bit in the batter as it cooks.
• something that I do on occasion with these muffins, I add about 1 tbsp of blueberry jam. I fill the tin 1/4 then add 1 tbsp of blueberry jam and fill the rest of the way (3/4 up the tin). It makes for a nice little extra pop of blueberry in the center of the muffins. So yummy.