Blueberry Muffins

Now that you have tried your hand at yeast bread, let's try something super simple. I must have tried twenty or thirty muffin recipes before I arrived at this one. Some were too sweet and cup-cakey, others to dry and crumbly. Some were just not worth the (small amount) of effort.

But this, my friends, is one recipe you will pull out for Easter Brunch, Christmas Morning and when you want to impress the "mother-in-law". Once you get the hang of it, try other fruit, dried fruit, nuts or carrots. Have fun. Use this as your starting point and experiment.

The basic batter whips up in a minute. Just don't beat the shortening to death, you want the pieces to be large enough to produce different amounts of steam, thus creating different size spaces in the batter. This will allow the muffin to rise to new heights, and the interior crumb will be full of little nooks and crannies. Let me know how you do....or how many you ate!

Blueberry Muffins

2c. all purpose flour

1/2c. sugar

1/2t. salt

1/4c. crisco solid shortening

3t. baking powder

1c. buttermilk

1 egg

1c. frozen or fresh blueberrries.

Oven 400 degrees.

In your mixer combine flour, sugar and salt.  Whirl to combine.  Add the shortening.  Mix a minute-just to make the mixture crumbly.  Stop the mixer and add the baking powder.  

Turn on the mixer and add the buttermilk and egg in one pour.  Mix 10-15 seconds.  Fold in blueberries by hand. Thats it.  30 seconds of effort.  Homemade is easy, people!

Immediately scoop into muffin tins, well greased or with papers.  Fill 3/4.  Top with a sprinkling of course sugar and bake about 20-23 minutes.  Cool on tins only about 8 minutes.  Remove to cool on a cookie sheet.  Best eaten warm, although they will keep in tupperware for about 2 days.