Bakeries and Blueberries

I don't know what was going on today downtown - I was in the Roncesvalles Village district of Toronto this morning for an acupuncture appointment (a botched episode of planning... they booked me in for YESTERDAY, not today... grr...) and the local bakeries were crammed full of people! Normally on a Saturday they will have customers, sure, but this morning looked like the end of the pastry world was nigh! I'm telling you, people with sometimes 2 or three big bakery boxes of pączki and croissants and breads of all kinds were in abundance, and boy, did the air smell good! Luckily, I knew that I have a list of holiday baking a gazillion miles long to do, so I was able to avoid that temptation!

One of the things I made this week were these beauties for one of my school friends' Christmas gifts. I adapted these slightly from Alton Brown's recipe, and they really are the perfect "cafe" style muffin - fluffy, light and packed with blueberry goodness! My friends Sabrina and Johana (she shared... nice girl!) both ate one during our exam yesterday and declared them wonderful - not too sweet, not heavy, and the perfect pick me up after a night of cramming! I'm going to pass this post on to the Home Made Christmas Gifts Event at My Kitchen Treasures too, so everyone can share the love!

If you make jumbo muffins, increase the baking time to 35 minutes and test with a toothpick for doneness.

Big Blueberry Muffins
Makes 6 jumbo or 12 regular muffins
12.5 ounces (360g) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh (or frozen, unthawed) blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375F, grease 12 large (or 6 jumbo) muffin cups.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg and buttermilk.
4. Add the dry ingredients and fold gently to incorporate just slightly, then add blueberries and fold those in. A lumpy batter is fine here.
5. Portion the mixture into greased muffin pans.
6. Place into the oven, increase the temperature to 400 degrees.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.
8. Remove from oven and turn out onto a rack.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 247.2
Total Fat: 10.2 g
Cholesterol: 18.5 mg
Sodium: 72.1 mg
Total Carbs: 35.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.0 g
Protein: 4.2 g