Blueberry Muffins
The year that we were both living in Bologna, Gloria and I (not surprisingly) organized quite a few dinner parties -- hamburgers and strawberry shortcake for a completely American meal, pizza, and melanzane alla parmigiana, etc. The most famous and successful of these dinners, however, was "Cenazione," i.e our breakfast-for-dinner meal that we made for our group of both Italian and American friends. (For those of you who have never studied Italian: cena=dinner, colazione=breakfast, cena +colazione=cenazione). "Cenazione" was designed to introduce Italians to the classic American breakfast dishes that they are so curious about, but at dinner time, as most Italians wouldn't dream of eating eggs and bacon before noon. We made a huge feast of omelets, home fries, chocolate chip pancakes, and these blueberry muffins, which were a huge hit with Italians and Americans alike.
I've tried many recipes for blueberry muffins over the years, and these are hands down my favorite -- super fluffy, vanilla-y, and chock full of berries, not to mention perfect for the summer when blueberry season rolls around. If you're not a fan of blueberries, feel free to substitute raspberries or any other kind of berry, or leave the fruit out all together and add chocolate chips. Enjoy!
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BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Makes 12 muffins.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (112 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups (250 grams) white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup (120mL) milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder
1/2 (3 grams) teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (150 grams) fresh blueberries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin pan. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in to a large bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one a a time and beat well. Add milk and vanilla and beat well. Finally, stir in the flour mixture, being careful not to over mix. Stir in the blueberries. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full and bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in to the center comes out clean. I like to eat these warm with butter, but they're great plain as well.
