A Week of {Blueberries} ~ Blueberry Muffins

Hey friends! I had so much fun yesterday picking blueberries with my pastor's wife, mom, and sister. We used to go every year growing up and I forgot how much I enjoyed it. The beauty of God's creation just astounds me. I was looking around me and thought, "how could anyone doubt the divine Creator?" No one could ever convince me that all this just happened...or evolved. No way!

Psalm 34:8 ~ "O taste and see that the Lord is good..." 

My sister, Cierra

My mama :)

12 pounds of blueberries :)

The blueberries were big, beautiful, and delicious! The weather was perfect for picking and the whole time I was there, I kept thinking about all of the fantastic sweets I was going to make with them. So, of course, I got started right away. First up, blueberry muffins.

Blueberry muffins are one of those things that everyone says they have the best recipe for. I don't have a standard recipe that I use. I always hit google and try a new one whenever I get a craving. However, now I think I finally have it. The BEST blueberry muffin recipe I've ever tried. No kidding. I've tried tons. These are just amazing. I think it has to do with the fact that you make a jam first that you can either put right into the batter or on top when they come out of the oven. These don't even need butter. Delicious!

Homemade jam on top - yum!

These muffins have a very light, moist crumb

Blueberry Jam:

1 cup blueberries

1 cup sugar

Cook on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally to keep from burning. Break up some of the berries to release their juice when stirring. Cook until thickened and reduced to about 1/4-1/2 cup of jam. 

Blueberry Muffins (adapted from here)

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries 

1 1/8 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour 
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

Preheat oven to 425* and spray muffin pan with non-stick spray or line with cupcake liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs until thick and texture is consistent. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Fold the egg mixture and blueberries into flour mixture until just combined without over-mixing. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups and add 1 teaspoon of the jam into each. With a toothpick, lightly swirl jam into batter. Bake until tops are golden brown and just firm. Cool muffins in tin for 5 minutes before removing. Pour any remaining jam onto tops of muffins while still warm. 

*I left the jam out of some of the muffins to taste the difference. The muffins are good either way but the jam just adds an extra layer of delicious flavor!

We finally have a new oven at our house so be ready for lots of blueberry recipes this week! I'm gonna be making Bluebery Crumb Bars, Blueberry Pie, Blueberry Pie Cupcakes, and Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes. I'm so excited about this week and all of the goodies I'm gonna share with all of you! Stay tuned for these and more!! As always, happy reading and, more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!