Recipe: Zesty Blueberry Muffins

I can't tell you how many blueberry muffin recipes I've attempted, trying to find the perfect level of sweetness and the right consistency of batter. Finally, here it is! I adapted this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite cooking blogs! One thing I love about this blog is that she is always on the search for the perfect recipe too, testing out and reviewing multiple recipes for one particular dish. For this recipe, I changed some of the flour to whole wheat, substituted candied lemon peel for lemon zest and added some thyme from our garden. I think it turned out some of the most perfect blueberry muffins!

Perfect Blueberry Muffins

Yield: 12 standard muffins


5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup candied lemon peel, chopped (recipe below)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 1/4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line or spray muffin tin. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then beat in sour cream. Mix together dry ingredients and then beat into sugar mixture. Fold in candied lemon peel, thyme, and blueberries. As Smitten Kitchen notes, "The dough will be quite thick, closer to a cookie dough..." Fill muffin tin 3/4 full and bake 15-20 minutes.

Candied Lemon Peel

leftover peels from about 5 lemons

2 c. sugar

2 c. water

Cut off as much of the white inner layer of your peels as possible (This is bitter.), and slice your yellow peels into whatever size pieces you'd like. Bring water to a boil in a small pan and add peels. Boil for 5 minutes, until tender. Stir in sugar and return to boil. Boil until peels are transparent. Drain and shake in sugar to coat the peels. Allow to air dry before storing (or dry in a dehydrator to speed up the process).

Reserve your liquid for lemon flavored simple syrup!

Pickin'

Last weekend, Paul and I drove down to Bush & Vine Farm in York, SC, for a Saturday morning gathering blueberries and peaches. From June to September, the farm grows over twenty varieties of peaches, both yellow and white, as well as a couple types of nectarines. We planned to go when the blueberries were still in season, too. York was a pretty town, and the early morning weather was perfect for picking.

It's amazing how many things you can make with just one type of fruit! From canning to baking to beer-making, here's what we came up with: peaches in vanilla bean syrup, peach salsa, peach hibiscus beer, peach quesadillas, peach chipotle marinade, peach couscous, brie puff pastries with peaches and blueberries, blueberry pie, and blueberry muffins with thyme and candied lemon peel. We also dried and froze all the leftovers for use this fall and winter. Below is the recipe for the peach couscous, and I'll share some more recipes in the coming weeks.

Savory Peach Couscous

from Twin Tables

1 cup couscous
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeño, seeds removed and finely diced (use less according to taste)
1 peach, peeled, pitted and cut into cubes
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped mint
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt to taste

For the full cooking instructions, please refer to the original recipe on Twin Tables, a lovely cooking blog!