B is for Blueberry Muffins

My mom makes really delicious blueberry muffins and I distinctly remember her serving them with dinner in lieu of a roll or biscuit.  Most people think of muffins as a to-go breakfast or as a treat with coffee, but it doesn't have to be!  Try serving hot blueberry muffins along with a salad topped with grilled chicken, blueberries, pecans, and a lemon vinaigrette dressing.  Sounds delicious, right?  It'd be even better on your porch or patio with a glass of Viognier!

I like Williams-Sonoma's blueberry muffin recipe, but I don't put the buttery brown sugar crumble topping on as they suggest because they're decadent enough as is.  Before baking, I like to just sprinkle a few oats on top for texture.  Below is the recipe sans streusel topping.  Try these out!

Blueberry Muffins

from The Willams-Sonoma Baking Book

7 Tbsp. butter, room temp
3/4 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries (unthawed)

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray 12 muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray.

Using the mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar and then add the eggs one at a time.  In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add the dry goods to the butter mixture gradually and mix the milk and vanilla.  Stir until just moistened because the batter should be a little lumpy.  Fold in the blueberries carefully using a spatula.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups until level with the rim.  Bake the muffins until golden, about 20-25 minutes.  

O is for Oatmeal Scotchies

One of my go-to cookbooks for desserts is called Nestle Classic Recipes.  It's got all your favorites like original chocolate chip cookies (that all our mothers made), gooey peanut bars, lemon bars, blondies, fudge, and cheesecake.  They're basic recipes, and you can bet that whatever you make from the book will disappear quickly.

I chose to make Oatmeal Scotchies because I had a 1/2 bag of butterscotch chips that I kept sneaking bites from and I needed them to go away.  The batter was thick and delicious, but the cookies flattened out a lot more than I expected them to in the oven.  I think I need new baking soda.  Regardless of their flat shape, the cookies were delicately crispy and chewy at the same time and the flavor was...awesome.  I packaged some up for a friend and she came back asking for more.  Maybe you'll make some Scotchies this week!

Oatmeal Scotchies

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. old fashioned oats
1 2/3 c. butterscotch morsels

Preheat your oven to 375.  Combine the dry goods: flour, baking soda, cinnamon & salt in a bowl.  In the mixer, beat butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.  Gradually add the dry goods and then stir in your oats and morsels.  Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets and cook for 7-9 minutes.

B is for Baked Oatmeal Cups

I am a big fan of oatmeal and love to have it in the mornings before work, but I am not a big fan of the wait time involved if I cook it on the stove.  I don't like overnight oatmeal because it just seems so soggy and cold.  I DO like baked oatmeal because it's got a firmer, more cake-like consistency and it reheats nicely when I'm in a hurry.  I decided to do a little experiment with baked oatmeal in silicone muffin cups tonight with the intention of heating up a cup or two each day this week before jumping in the car on my way to school.

Baked Oatmeal

3 cups oats
2 cups skim milk
3/4 c. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. melted butter
2 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients together and spoon into muffin cups until 3/4 full.  Bake at 375º for about 25 minutes.  The oatmeal will not be firm or completely dry;  it has a moist consistency but can hold its shape when you pop it out of the silicone muffin cup.  

I topped the unbaked cups with all sorts of goodies- pecans, blueberries, frozen peach slices and blackberries, flax seed, raisins, butterscotch chips, and dried papaya.  I would say that a few of these toppings should just be added AFTER cooking because they lose their good looks in the oven.  If I made these again, I'd skip on the blackberries and blueberries because they bleed into the oatmeal mixture and look unappetizing even if they taste fine.  

Just out of the oven, these oatmeal cups were very tasty!  I hope they'll be just as delicious when I'm reheating them this week for breakfast.