Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins

I started to make these muffins yesterday, and finished them today.  No, it was not my plan for this recipe to be a two-day process.

My gas oven, however, had other plans.  It didn't feel like heating up yesterday.  I was gathering my ingredients, snapping my blog pictures, starting to combine my ingredients, oblivious to the fact that my oven was not preheating.

Just before I combined the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients I realized that not only hadn't my oven beeped to let me know it was preheated, it hadn't even ignited (being gas, I can hear a "whoosh" when it ignites and then a soft purr from the flame).

I'd have to get my oven repaired.

What to do with all the ingredients?  I had the bowl of wet ingredients, the bowl of dry ingredients, the bowl with the berries tossed with flour, and the "buttermilk" that I made with milk and lemon juice.  I didn't want to toss everything.  But I was in a frustrated state of mind and wasn't thrilled at the thought of finishing the preparations, freezing the batter in the muffin tin to be thawed and baked at a later date when I had an oven that was operational.

So instead, I entered a state of denial and decided that if I covered and refrigerated everything and waited until the morning, I would have just-baked (instead of merely reheated) muffins for breakfast if my oven would only magically decide to work this morning.

And it did.

I'm still going to call my handy repairman tomorrow (who used to be a lot more at-hand when he lived around the corner; I didn't even have to pick up the phone to call him if I timed it right and caught him as he was walking his pugs, Dunkin' and Donut, past my house).  

Until it's repaired, I'm not going to plan on cooking anything that needs to be cooked in the oven.  I'm just grateful that I was able to get one last gasp from the dying ignition and finish baking these muffins!

Daily doggy photos:

Gus runs to the back door because he hears the gate on our deck open and close (it was windy).  He's excited because he thinks we have a visitor.  Clyde follows him, because he copies everything Gus does.

Gus gets tired waiting for the non-existent visitor to show up, so he lies down.  Clyde lies down as well, because he copies everything Gus does.  Then he notices that I am there, with something in my hand (the camera)...

and decides to investigate, ending the photo session.

Today's Playlist

• "Welcome To The Black Parade".......My Chemical Romance
• "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"........Green Day
• "Animal"......Neon Trees
• "Seven Nation Army".......The White Stripes
• "Sick Of You"......Cake
• "I'm Yours"......Jason Mraz
• "Your Gonna Go Far, Kid"......The Offspring

Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• zest from 1 lemon (approximately 1 tablespoon)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour (use 1/4 cup of this to toss with the berries)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or substitute by placing 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice in 1/2 cup measuring cup and fill to brim with milk. Let stand for five minutes)
• sanding sugar

Gather your ingredients.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Zest your lemon

At this point I realized I could use the juice from my bald lemon (instead of the vinegar I was planning on using) to create my buttermilk substitution.  Disregard the vinegar in the picture of ingredients.  Wish I were a better planner!

If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can create a substitution.  Place 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice in a 1/2 cup measuring cup.

Then fill the cup with milk.  Let it sit for 5 minutes and you will have your buttermilk substitution.

Place your washed berries in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of the flour.

Shake the bowl to toss the berries and coat them with flour.

Why do we do this?  It helps to prevent the berries from falling to the bottom of the muffins while they bake.

Cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest.  Beat it until it's light and fluffy.

Add the egg and the vanilla extract.

After this, you will be mixing by hand and no longer using your mixer.

Place the remaining flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Whisk to combine.

Stir the flour mixture into the batter, alternating with the buttermilk.

I added half the flour mixture, the buttermilk, and then the remaining flour mixture.

Carefully fold in the berries.

The raspberries are all going to squish and fall apart, and that's okay.

Grease your muffin tin or use paper liners.

Fill the muffin tin.  I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to fill my muffin tin.  This makes 10 fairly large muffins.

Sprinkle the tops with sanding sugar.

Bake for 23-26 minutes.  Check with a toothpick for doneness; when the toothpick comes out clean when you poke a muffin with it, you will know your muffins are done.

Enjoy!!