Summer is here and the blueberries are delicious! I have been indulging myself with lots of them, buying a box or two every time I shop. They have been big, fat and juicy and biting into one is existential bliss! They are a great snack and an inspiration for cooking.
I found this recipe in a thrift shop purchase. It was a little booklet designed for kids and the recipes were intended to make mini muffins. I made regular sized muffins for my grown-up appetite and got 9 muffins. This recipe is great just as a plain cornbread muffin, but I have embellished it in various ways. At different times I added raspberries, raspberries and crystalized ginger, blueberries, then settled on blueberries and lime. All of the various incarnations were good, but I think this last one was my favorite.
I made these muffins with organic cornmeal I bought at the farmers market. It is a stone-ground Red Italian Heirloom “Floriana” Flint corn. This cornmeal has a lovely golden red hue. I liked this article about the history of how growing corn has evolved in America. Just like vegetables, the more colorful varieties of corn offer better nutrition.
I will be shopping at the farmers market even more than usual now that Amazon has bought Whole Foods. I find it unsettling to have these huge corporations towering over my head.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 generous teaspoon lime zest (from one lime)
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 9 spaces of your cupcake baking pan with paper liners.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
- In a larger bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat a bit longer. Add the egg and beat until well incorporated. Beat in the lime zest.
- Remove the mixer blades from the bowl and using a wide spatula stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk. Stir in the blueberries at this point, and then the remaining flour. Do not over mix the batter.
- Drop the batter into the prepared pan with a quarter-cup size scoop. Bake the muffins for about 18 minutes.
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