Most Amazing Blueberry Muffins

When we finally decide to start eating healthy, we will stop eating things for breakfast like this amazing muffins. Not that they are really bad for you or anything, it has eggs just like any other traditional breakfast. It’s that these are just too hard to give up.  Making muffins from scratch is way too easy!!

Amazing Blueberry Muffins

1 stick (8 T.) unsalted butter
1 1/3 c self rising flour*
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. sugar**
2/3 c. milk
2 large eggs
1 1/4 c blueberries (fresh or frozen)
brown sugar

*  if you prefer to use 1 3/4 c all-purpose flour then you can add 1 T. baking   power and 1/4 t. salt to the flour and sift together.
** if you like to omit the brown sugar topping then increase granulated sugar to  2/3 cup.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and butter a large 6 muffin tin or standard 12 muffin tin or use muffin cups.

Melt butter over stove or microwave in a bowl.

Add vanilla, sugar, milk, and eggs and combine. Mix in flour mixture.

Fold in blueberries using no more than 10 strokes. I used Trader Joe’s frozen Wild Boreal Blueberries from Quebec, Canada. They are all natural, free of pesticides and smaller then the curiously overgrown blueberries that you find in your local grocery store. I feel like you can get a lot of them in the muffin. My husband likes them very blue so I used 1/2 the 16oz bag.  Yeah! Very blue!

Pour into muffin cups. Top with brown sugar or you can top with a streusel. I think they are perfect with brown sugar but if you need more richness then here’s a streusel recipe I love.

5 T. melted unsalted butter
2/3 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. powdered sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon (optional)
pinch of salt
Put all ingredients in a medium bowl, mix with your fingers until the mixture is moist and crumbly.

Bake muffins until tops are golden, 19-23 minutes for large, 15-17 minutes for standard muffins.

Let cool for 10 minutes and transfer out of pan. Serve warm.

Variations:

1 1/4 c. boysenberries/raspberry mixture (another husband favorite)
3/4 c. walnuts
3/4 c. pecans
1 1/4 c. sliced strawberries
1 1/4 c. sliced peaches
2 T. fresh lemon zest
2 T. fresh orange zest
2 T poppy seeds
1 t. nutmeg, 1/2 t cinnamon

Oh and here's a shot after my husband cracked into one. It tastes just as good as it looks.

Peach Hand Pies

I had some leftover white peach preserves that I had made earlier and decided to use my favorite galette recipe to make hand pies. I lived in NYC for 11 years, and in the east coast they say things a little differently. Instead of dolly, they say hand truck. Instead of turnover, they say hand pie. To this day I still call turnovers hand pies. It's nice to have some dough ready in your freezer.

Galette dough: makes enough for 10 hand pies (can store in freezer for 1 month)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1/4 cup to 1/2 ice water

Place flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer or food processor or simply use a pastry cutter. Add butter to flour mixture and process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water in a slow steady stream just until dough holds together. Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide into 2 equal pieces and place on 2 separate sheets of plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.

I used 1 half of this recipe and separated the dough into 5 equal pieces. Roll the dough and cut into a 4-6 inch circle. I chose 6 inches and used a bowl as a cutting guide. Transfer dough to baking sheet.

Fill one half with 2 tablespoons of fruit filling. You can use apples, cherries, plums, peaches, or berries. Cook the fruit with some lemon juice, sugar, and a little bit of flour or cornstarch. I used peach preserves that worked out perfectly.

Fold over and press edges with a fork. Cut a steam hole on top. Brush with an egg wash.

Sprinkle a course sugar on top such as turbinado. I only had granulated. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. So quick and tasty.

Canning Strawberry Preserves no pectin required!

I used to spend a lot of time in France, both Paris and Nice and sometimes Lyon. In France a family would buy a fresh baguette daily. They eat it plain or with some nice cheese. We Americans typically like to eat baguettes with butter, and Italians with olive oil. This is good too. On weekends French people like to eat their baguettes with fresh strawberry preserves. They have it just like that for breakfast and many make their preserves almost weekly. It's easy.

Today I found a sale on strawberries. $1.25 a pound! I bought some and thought I'd make a few jars of preserves. Canning is the perfect solution to store away late summer fruits for the up coming seasons. Or you could just put them in the freezer and use for smoothies, but since I'm all stocked up on frozen fruits, I thought I'd make my favorite recipe of strawberry preserves from the famous La Madeleine restaurant. I loved this restaurant so much when I used to visit Texas or Washington D.C. Sadly, we don't have any here in California. The best thing they serve is the Tomato Basil Soup. Their second best is the strawberry preserves. I knew I had to buy their recipe book. Thank you La Madeleine.
 

3 lbs fresh strawberries 
 4 1/2 cups sugar 
 juice of 1 lemon  
THAT'S IT! Makes 3 half pints

Wash, stem, and hull strawberries. Cut in uniform pieces if necessary. Set aside.

 

Combine sugar with the lemon juice and boil until sugar dissolves and mixture becomes a syrup, about 6 minutes after a boil is reached. It's good to use all stainless steel for canning. Clearly here, I did not.

You can keep adding a few drops of lemon juice until you reach a syrup. Pour strawberries into the syrup, stir well and boil for 25-30 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure the fruit does not boil over.

Sterilize your jars and place on a clean towel.

When preserves are cooked, skim off any foam, and pour mixture into hot sterilized jars. It's nice to have one of these funnels. I found mine for $2.

Wipe rim, seal and process in canner for 10 minutes adding 5 minutes for every 3000 feet above sea level. Water should be boiling 1-2 inches above the jars. Turn off stove and let sit for 5 minutes more.

Remove jars and place on a towel. Leave alone for 24 hours then check to see if lid is properly sealed. Lid will be concave meaning there is no air left in jars. Refrigerate if lids are unsealed for up to 3 months. Store sealed jars in pantry for up to 1 year.

Make your labels and trim with your favorite ribbon.

Congrats! Perfect preserves without any additives. Bon mange!