Blueberry Monday

My sister went to the local farmer's market over the weekend and found an abundance of blueberries. They were selling for 4 pints for $5.00. At that price, she couldn't leave them behind. Because she was worried they would spoil before she could eat them all, she brought a pint and a half to me.

While I like blueberries, I don't like them plain. I usually mix them in Greek yogurt or put them in pancake batter or muffins. Since it's blueberry season where I live, I thought I'd share a blueberry muffin recipe this week.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened (about 1/2 of a stick) I used unsalted butter, but you can use salted if you like.
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (I use a low-fat version if I can find it at my grocery store.)
1 cup fresh blueberries. I've also made these using frozen blueberries
Pam cooking spray or muffin/cupcake papers
Lemon Glaze (see below)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients, mixing well. Next cut the softened butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse meal. If you don't have a pastry cutter, I've used a fork. It's a bit more work, but it can be done this way too.

In a separate small bowl, combine the buttermilk, lemon peel, and egg until well mixed. Pour into the flour mixture. Stir just until all the ingredients are moist. Don't over stir or your muffins will be very dense. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Spray muffin pan with Pam cooking spray. I usually use muffin/cupcake papers instead. It makes for an easier clean up. Fill the individual cups evenly with the batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the pan immediately and cool on a wire rack. I have to admit we sometimes eat these almost right out of the oven with lots of melting butter on them.

You can add a lemon glaze to the top of the muffins if you'd like. Combine 1 tablespoon lemon juice with 1/2 cup powered (Confectioners) sugar in a small bowl and drizzle over the muffins. You can do this while they are still warm or wait until the muffins have cooled.

Makes 12 muffins

I hope you enjoy the muffins as much as we do. :o)