Lee and I went blueberry picking at the beginning of blueberry season. I used some of the blueberries to make muffins, but forgot to post about it!
On Wednesday, Lee and I did some more blueberry picking (we picked some raspberries as well, but that's another post) I made them again today so I decided to post about it.
Well, these muffins were amazing , I couldn't get enough!
The first time I made these muffins, I hadn't yet been to Penzeys to get spices. Well, I am now officially in love with Penzeys' spices (must go to special spice stores from now on!!!) and decided to use one of the three types of cinnamon I bought there. I went with the Korintje Cassia cinnamon. Also, because Penzeys' spices are so much fresher than the supermarket spices and have much more scent and flavor to them, I used a little less cinnamon.
There are two main types of cinnamon [Cassia and Ceylon "true" cinnamon (I'll post more when I make something with it)], but there are several variations within the cassia cinnamon family, each tasting different depending on where it was grown. I went with the Korintje Cassia cinnamon because it has the mildest flavor out of the three Cassia cinnamons. (Chinese and Vietmanese are the other types Penzeys carries.) I didn't want the cinnamon to be the star of the show, just add a bit of flavor.
I used the basic recipe from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I remembered learning that vanilla can help bring out flavors in fruit dishes, and remembered how delicious the apple filling for the Daring Bakers danish challenge was and decided to add some vanilla.
I made some vanilla sugar with my vanilla beans and added that to the mix. The vanilla sugar was really easy to make.
Vanilla Sugar
1 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise, per 2 cups sugar.
Allow to infuse for a week.
I used one Bourbon and one Tahitian bean and shook this once a day to help mix it up well.
Blueberry Muffins
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 1/2 to 3/4 tsp of Korintje Cassia cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray muffin tins with non-stick spray, or line with paper cups.
- Mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
- Make a well in the center.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the butter, milk, and egg.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients.
- Using a spoon or rubber spatula, mix until just blended. Be sure to fold and mix gently, do not beat.
- Carefully mix in blueberries at the last minute.
- Spoon into muffin pans.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes depending on size of muffins.
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