Recipe Reviews: Blueberry Muffins

photo from www.thepioneerwoman.com

I love bluberry muffins but I don't like blueberry muffins from a mix. Usually the blueberries are so tiny and hard you hardly get a taste of them. When I saw this recipe I knew I had a winner. The recipe is again from The Pioneer Woman.

MY THOUGHTS: Simple. They are made with yogurt and whole fresh blueberries. Between the two, you get a moist mouthful bursting of blueberry flavor. Nothing dry about these muffins. The recipe doesn't specify how many they make so I made mine extra large and I got a dozen out of the recipe. Make sure to grease your pans (I found some Pam w/flour, for baking, spray and I tried it out with these and it works like magic and so much easier than greasing and flouring your pans the normal way). I used non-fat yogurt instead of regular and they still tasted great. I used the large sanding sugar which adds nice texture to each bite and makes them look a little more fancy. I froze these as well and popped them in the microwave for 30 seconds and they were good as new. The recipe comes with a yogurt sauce which I didn't try but sounds good too. Make sure to head over to the recipe site and there are step-by-step pictures to follow along with if you need them.

DIFFICULTY: EASY

MAKE AGAIN: For sure.

Enjoy!

RECIPE TAKEN FROM: THE PIONEER WOMAN WEBSITE (www.thepioneerwoman.com)

The Awesome-est Blueberry Muffins

3 cups minus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
Heavy pinch of salt
Dash of Nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 generous cup plain, unflavored yogurt (throw in extra if you want) **I used nonfat**
2 cups fresh blueberries
Vanilla Extract
Softened Butter, for muffin tins **or Pam w/flour spray**
Turbinado sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 385 degrees.

In a large bowl sift flour, baking soda, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl whisk together sugar, oil, cap-ful of vanilla, egg, and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients and stir to a count of 10.

Add blueberries, reserving 1/2 cup, to mixture and stir 3 times.

Add mixture to well-buttered muffin pans. Sprinkle remaining berries on top and press down lightly. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top. (Brown sugar can be used instead.)

Bake 20 to 25 minutes and allow to cool completely.

Yogurt-Blueberry Sauce:

In small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries (if using fresh, add 2 tsp water) and 1 tsp sugar. Cook until berries pop and liquid begins to thicken. Dump in heaping 1/4 cup plain yogurt and stir to combine. Drizzle on muffins.