Jack of all Muffins

 Little Gourmified here. I am filling in while Gourmified is recovering from having her baby. Until she gets a chance to show you, go ahead and check out her post all about her new little one HERE.  I am currently pregnant and this baby LOVES berries, especially blueberries. Growing up our Mom made the most delicious blueberry muffins...I'll have to tell Lisa she needs to post that recipe soon.  It's incredible!  In the meantime, this recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book.  Which in our house it is referred to as the Cooking Bible. I have referred to this cookbook more than any other throughout my years of cooking and learning to cook.

I recommend you use Northwest Blueberries (being from the Northwest I am partial ;)

 It is recommended that you make a well for the moist ingredients to be added to the dry ingredients. This method works great for creating a perfect muffin batter.

 I always add WAY more blueberries than the recipe calls for.  This blueberry lover wants her muffins to be purple and oozing with blueberry goodness!

One deviation I do in this recipe is the topping. I like to sprinkle my blueberry muffins with sugar. It is LOADS easier and marries well with the sweet berries. (I also prefer using baking cups they look more inviting and make cleanup a breeze!)

Prep: 10 minutes Bake time: 18 minutes
Oven: 400 degrees F and Makes 12 muffins (or a few more if you add extra berries like I do)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
Sprinkle top with sugar

Grease twelve 2 1/2 inch muffin cups or line with paper bake cups: set aside
In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
In another bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture (see photo 2)
Spoon batter in top repared muffin cups, filling each one two-thired full. If desired sprinkle topping over muffin batter in cups. Bake in a 400 degreeoven for 19-20 minutes of until golden and wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.

This recipe is a great base for any muffin some recommended are: Cranberry, Oatmeal, Poppy Seed, Banana, Cheese and of course Blueberry. If you are at our house we might be trying all the variations since I have a 2 year-old obsessed with Mickey Mouse Club House and with "Moo Muffins" every muffin is now a Moo Muffin.
For Blueberry Muffins
Prepare as above, except fold in 3/4 (or more like 1 cup) of fresh or frozen blueberries and, if desired  1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel into batter.

TWD::Corniest Corn Muffins

I know, I know.  It's about a month and a half late, but I really wanted to bake these since my family LOVES corn muffins!

Thanks to Jilla of My Next Life for choosing such a YUMMY recipe!  We LOVED them.  

There was just the right amount of cornmeal with a touch of fresh corn for added texture.  Delish!

To see how other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers fared check out the TWD Blogroll.  

{recipe for corniest corn muffins}

TWD::Grain Muffins, well sort-of

 This week for our Tuesdays with Dorie recipe selection, Christine of Happy Tummy chose Great Grains Muffins.  As you can see, I didn't quite follow that recipe.  BUT this IS a grain recipe of sorts.  Though Dorie's recipe for the Great Grains Muffins looks INCREDIBLE, I've had this bran muffin recipe sitting in my to-do folder for a LONG time.  I'm definitely going to be making Dorie's recipe in the near future, but for now, I'm enjoying this bran muffin...A LOT!  They are really quite good.  They are not terribly sweet just very filling and good. 


It's actually a 6-Week Whole Wheat Bran Muffin.  Why 6 weeks, you ask?  Well, once all combined, the batter for this recipe can sit in your fridge, covered for up to SIX weeks!  HOLY COW!  I know!  Is that not the craziest!?  Since the recipe makes a healthy 60 muffins, you might just want to bake them fresh each time.   

Or, You could be like me and spend all morning in the kitchen baking muffins, and everything else under the sun, just so you can get the baking part over with.  Besides, they freeze really well and taste absolutely INCREDIBLE reheated and slathered with butter.  Then again, doesn't EVERYTHING taste amazing with butter!?  Yeah.  Butter. It's one of my favorite toppings.  If you don't want to add butter, don't fret.  Your favorite jelly spread or plain is just as incredible!  My kids even love them and will snack on them instead of junk!!!

{low-sugar bran muffins}
   recipe from Kira at Kira Cooks


2 cups water
4 cups whole bran cereal (all-bran)

Boil the water, then combine with the whole bran cereal in a large bowl.  Sit for 5 min to allow the bran to soak up the water and soften.


In the meantime, Combine:
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar


add:
4 eggs, beaten
1 quart low fat buttermilk

then add:
2 cups 40% bran flakes (I buy the cheap wal-mart bran flakes)
the soaking whole bran cereal1 Tbsp salt
5 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
2 cups whole wheat flour (if you want to do all whole wheat only do about 4 3/4 total since wheat is "thirstier")
Raisins (optional, but add just before baking)


Stir together until just combined.  Bake 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes (mine always take the 20).
This recipe makes 60.

{great grains muffins recipe}

Also, don't forget to check out the TWD Blogroll to see how all the other bakers fared with their muffins this week!

TWD::Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

Have you ever not liked something forever because repeated taste tests just didn't quite measure up?  Yeah, well, I've been like that practically my whole life when it comes to poppy seed anything.  No matter how often I would try, I just couldn't enjoy it.  Until NOW. 

 Betsy of A Cup of Sweetness chose our Tuesdays with Dorie recipe this week and I have to say Betsy, Thank you.  I absolutely positively fell in LOVE.  I changed mine up a bit since I have so many oranges on hand and made mine and orange-flavored instead of lemon as the recipe suggests.  Though, I know this would taste incredible with lemon as well.  They're called muffins, but really, I say that loosely.  They tasted more like a delicious citrus-y cake-y dessert.  This could easily be made into one large loaf, a few mini loaves or cupcakes perhaps!?  I mean, when you slather an amazing orange glaze all over the top that makes you want to lick it right off just as fast, what else is there.  Really.  They taste just as good fresh and warm out of the oven as they do cooled.  The best part about this recipe, was that it was so EASY!  I {HEART} recipes that are not only easy but taste incredible, too.   

{Recipe for Orange Poppy Seed Muffins}

Don't forget to see how other TWD bakers did with their recipe by checking out the TWD Blogroll.