Pancakes and Paella: Lazy Sunday Blueberry Muffins

I've been making this muffin recipe for nearly 20 years since I was in graduate school. I've made very few tweaks; if it's not broke don't fix it! This is adapted from the July 2003 Cooking Light recipe for Blueberry Power Muffins with Almond Streusel. I don't use a streusel topping on mine. I don't think it needs it, plus it's messy and one of the many great things about these muffins is how portable they are. Omitting the streusel also makes these far less sweet than the original recipe making me feel a bit healthier in choosing this breakfast option ☺.

You'll often find me cooking breakfast items on the weekends, particular Sundays. I love love breakfast foods, and love baking, so muffins and I are a match made in heaven. Also quick breads. I've posted several tried and true quick bread recipes, check them out at the links at the end of the post (along with some other breakfast recipes). Quick breads and muffins are super easy to freeze in individual portions, are portable, you can eat them with your hands. What can be better!

This recipe has a lot of ingredients but don't let that turn you off. It's part of the fun! This uses the "muffin method" of combining ingredients, meaning you need to combine all the wet ingredients separate from dry ingredients, then mix but don't overmix so you keep a nice light fluffy finished products. This is the key to fluffy pancakes too by the way, don't overmix!

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

I'll take a quick second to introduce Vito the Italian Greyhound, our newest family member. We've had him a couple months since he was 6 months old. We spoil him terribly!

Lazy Sunday Blueberry Muffins

Makes: 24

Serving: 2 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole what flour
1/2 cup other flour of your choice (almond, coconut, buckwheat, soy), or use another 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups yogurt, plain or vanilla, regular or Greek
1/2 cup milk of your choice
3 tablespoons oil (canola, vegetable, or olive oil)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract if not using vanilla flavored yogurt
1 large egg
1-1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

1) Preheat oven to 400 deg-F.

2) In a large bowl combine dry ingredients, flours through salt in a bowl, whisk until combined. I like to sift my flours as I add them, but this isn't necessary.

3) In another large bowl, combine wet ingredients, yogurt through egg, in another bowl and whisk until combined.

4) Prepare your muffin tins by spraying with cooking spray or lining with cupcake/muffin liners.

5) Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until just moist, folding and stirring. This should take about 10 seconds of folding and stirring. Mixture will be thick.

6) Fold in the blueberries.

7) Divide the batter into muffin tin, should be 24 depending on the size of your tins (The ones I use that were my grandmothers are smaller in portion than he newer one I purchased in college).

8) Bake at 400 deg-F for 17 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 mins. Remove from pans and eat or allow to completely cool on the wire rack. To freeze for later, let completely cool to room temp, then wrap in plastic wrap. I then put two wrapped muffins in a freezer bag to freeze two at a time to enjoy them later. They will keep fine unfrozen for 5 days tightly sealed in the refrigerator.