Here’s another recipe that was part of my January story, all about keeping teenagers from ordering too much take out. Read the whole column here. And, here’s the rest of the recipes: Middle Eastern Spiced Steak Wraps and Cous Cous Salad with Pickled Onions.
Elliot, and everyone in our house, loves muffins. He currently isn’t getting takeout muffins, so I’ve got the market on these. This recipe calls for all-purpose flour and a small amount of cornmeal added in. It’s not enough to qualify them for corn muffins, but just enough to give each bite a bit of sweetness and a tender crumb. I buy bags of frozen Maine blueberries (and try to catch them on sale), as they’re small and sweet and perfect for muffins, cakes, oatmeal topping and any other place where a little fruit or color would brighten things up. These muffins are best straight from the oven, sliced in two, with a generous hunk of butter spread over both sides. The next day, I like to slice them in half and fry them up in a little butter in my cast-iron skillet. There’s no takeout muffin that can compare to that!
Crumbly Blueberry Muffins
12
servingsIngredients
2 cups flour
⅓ cup cornmeal
½ cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
¼ cup neutral oil (canola, safflower, etc.)
1 cup frozen Maine blueberries
For the topping:
2 tablespoons cornmeal
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
Pinch salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the mixture and crack in the egg, then pour in the milk and oil. Stir well to combine all. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the berries. Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute among the muffin tin.
- Combine the topping ingredients in a small bowl and mix well until it’s crumbly and the butter has saturated all. Divide equally over the muffin batter.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back with a gentle touch.
