Blueberries-and-Cream Mall Muffins

Our house is overflowing with frozen berries after a summer of nothing but berry picking:

raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.

And apparently, my mom likes muffins.

I always thought pound cake was her only preference.

Well, she also said flat muffins didn't taste as good as the huge mushroom cap muffins.


Right...

Anyhow... voilà!

Blueberries-and-Cream Mall Muffins

from A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman

2 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp each pure lemon and orange extract, optional
5 cups, approximately, all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
(to substitute: 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice + milk to make 1 cup; let sit for 5 - 10 minutes)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups semi-frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 425 F. Arrange oven rack to middle position (which is the upper third of many ovens).

Generously spray a 12-cup large or standard muffin pan or a 24-cup small muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and then line with paper muffin liners. Place pan on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

In a mixer bowl, blend sugar with oil and butter. Briskly add eggs, vanilla, and other extracts. Fold in 4 coups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend somewhat before next blending in buttermilk and sour cream. Batter should be quite thick; if not, add a touch more flour. Gently fold in berries with a spatula, trying not to break them apart.

Using a large ice-cream scoop, scoop a very large amount of batter into prepared muffin cups, loading them as full as you can. You need almost a scoop and a half of batter per cup. Dust tops of mussinw tiah little sugar. (optional)

Bake 15 minutes at 425°F (220°C); then reduce oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake until muffins are golden brown and spring back when gently pressed with fingertips, about 12 to 16 more minutes. Let col 5 minutes before removing from pan.

For two 8- x 4-inch loaves, bake at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes or more, using same fingertip test for doneness.

Cranberry Cheese Muffins

Cranberry Craze #2

I know I should really be studying for my CENS (Central Eastern Northern European Studies) midterm but I haven't finished my Cranberry Craziness.

It's not that I don't want to study.
To be honest, this course is my favorite out of everything I've taken so far.

What's it about?

Err.. Representations of the Holocaust.

Yes, I know. My idea of "fun" is learning about the actions of Reserve Police Battalion 101 in the General Government of Poland during Aktion Reinhard in '42.

But.. yeah. I think I'll stop there.

Cranberry Cheese Muffins
(source: unknown)


3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme (I omitted this... because I didn't have any)

2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup cooking oil

Measure the first 8 ingredients into large bowl. Stir. Make a well in center.

Beat remaining 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Add to well. Stir until just moistened. Fill 12 greased muffin cups 3/4 cull. Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes until wooden pick installed in center of muffin comes out clean. Let stand in pan for 5 minutes.
Remove muffins from pan and place on wire rack to cool.