Blueberry Corn Muffins

This recipe is adapted from the Raspberry Corn Muffins in the Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook, Food to Live By. Please purchase the book to see that and other wonderful recipes by Myra Goodman.

This makes a moist muffin that is not quite as moist the second day. Either way, they are delicious!

Blueberry Corn Muffins
Makes 18 regular size muffins or 9 larger

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal - I like regular grind for texture
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup sour milk (1 Tablespoon lemon juice and enough milk to make 1 cup)
1 pint fresh blueberries - washed and dried

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place cupcake liners in 18 muffin cups.
Combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt and brown sugar. Blend well. Make a well in the center and add eggs, oil and milk. Stir until there are no more lumps. Add blueberries and fold in. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops of muffins spring back when touched.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins

Walking through the grocery today with my daughter, Megan she picked up a mammoth muffin and pointed to the top, "Look, see that sparkly sugar on top? Why don't you make muffins like this, woman?" Yes, she calls me 'woman' and points to the fact that Jesus also called his mother 'woman' as her reasoning for doing this and not being disrespectful. Right.

Anyway, I can make muffins like that, I just don't because I like to limit sugar consumption here to what is in food without making it worse by putting sugar on the food as well. I caved and made them for her. This combines two of my favorites - chocolate and cinnamon.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes 12 large muffins

3 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs - beaten
1/2 cup oil or melted butter (I like olive oil for baking)
1 12 ounce package mini chocolate chips
large grained sugar - I use Wilton's White Sparkling Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 12 large (a.k.a. mammoth) muffin tins with muffin liners. Stir together dry ingredients and make a well in the center. Blend milk, eggs, butter or oil and vanilla together and pour into well. Mix batter thoroughly and fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout batter.

Divide batter evenly between muffin tins and top each with sugar. Bake until tops spring back when touched lightly - about 20-25 minutes.

Constant Comment Muffins

Everyone has heard of the popular Bigelow tea, Constant Comment. To be perfectly honest, bad pun intended, it's not my cup of tea. In fact, if it were the only tea on earth, I simply wouldn't drink tea. My family, however, are all quite enamored with the amber brew and drink it like there's no tomorrow. There's no accounting for palates being passed on, is there?

At any rate, when I was devising muffins for my most recent Family.com post (Morning Muffins) I decided to see if I could come up with a muffin that would taste like the tea my family so adores. These are those muffins.

Constant Comment Muffins
Makes 12

1 cup sour milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 teaspoon orange zest
3/4 cup oat flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon apple pie spice (allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg)
1 cup instant oats
1 cup finely diced apple

Combine milk, orange juice, sugar, oil, extract, egg and zest. Blend well. Sift wheat flour, oat flour, spice, soda and powder. Add to wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in oats and apple. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees F for or until tops spring back when touched.