The best Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry muffins are a classic. Practically everyone has had at least one in their lifetime. Well, I have seen (and now tasted) the best blueberry muffins....ever.

Blueberry Muffins with Pecans

Delicious. Trust me. The best blueberry muffins....ever.

First, I don't think I've ever had a blueberry muffin with pecans in them. Another thing, these babies have another addition - a brown sugar surprise....baked in. Yummy.

The recipe I found didn't say how many muffins would be made, but I was able to get 12 regular size muffins and this cute little ring, too.

The ring would serve another 4 - 5 people, I'd say. Though, if you wanted to stick to all muffins, you could easily get 15 - 17 muffins out of the batter.

The inside is so wonderful! Baked to perfection, honestly. There is a nice blend of cinnamon with blueberry and pecan. Wanna see the inside? Here, I tore a piece of the ring just for you:

See that pecan? See the yummy blueberries. Delightful.

Wanna try them at your house? Here you go baby:

Blueberry Pecan Muffins with Brown Sugar

2 C flour
1 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C chopped pecans
1 C buttermilk
1/2 C oil
1 Xtra lg egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 F

Combine flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon, salt, and pecans in large bowl

Whisk buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla in small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Refrigerate batter for 10 minutes before scooping into the muffin liners.

Mix 1/2 C packed dark brown sugar, 1 Tbsp flour, and 1 Tbsp softened butter with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle about 1 tsp over each muffin. Top with additional pecans (if desired).

Bake muffins for about 20 minutes or until toothpick test is clean. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

*The brown sugar mixture will sink into the muffins and create little pockets of deliciousness. You could easily skip that step if you don't want the pockets.*

Enjoy!
-Erica

PS) Don't forget to enter to win Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook here.

Blueberry Crumbcake Pancakes

I was feeling a little frisky this morning and wanted to try something new. There was this recipe I came across on Joy the Baker's blog, Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes. They looked so delicious and we definitely share a love of pancakes.

So, I took Joy's recipe into the kitchen with me and got to mixing.

Here is the finished plate:


Delicious, no? YES!

From the blueberries, cinnamon, and brown sugar IN the batter.....all the way to that delightful crumb/streudel topping.....then drizzled with maple syrup.

Talk about Heaven. Mmmmmmm.

If you would like to try your hand at these, here ya go:

Blueberry Crumbcake Pancakes
(modified from Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes, Joy the Baker)

2 eggs
2 C buttermilk
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C old fashioned oats
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 C blueberries

(oil, butter, or cooking spray for the pan)

Step 1: In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add buttermilk, butter, and vanilla; mix well. Add flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Fold in blueberries and let batter set for a few minutes.

Step 2: Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Add a tsp of oil or butter to pan (or spray with cooking spray). You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water, when the water drops start to dance, its hot enough.

Step 3: Pour 2 Tbsp of batter onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone. Let cooked pancakes rest on a heat proof plate in a 200 degree F over until ready to serve.

Step 4: Serve pancakes in stacks with a dollop of butter, drizzled with maple syrup, and topped with streudel crumbs.


Streudel Crumbs

1/4 C oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 Tbsp brown sugar (packed)
1 1/2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened

Mix ingredients together with a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Sprinkle on top of your pancakes.

*You can adjust the quantity of any ingredient to suit your personal tastes.



Enjoy!
-Erica

Sunday Spotlight: Brownies for Dinner

Happy Sunday!

I've decided that I'm going to "spotlight" one of my favorite blogs each Sunday...along with a few of their recipes that catch my eye. :)

For my first spotlight:

Brownies for Dinner

What could be better? The moment I seen the title, I knew that blog was for me! *smile* I found Patricia's blog through the Daring Bakers' blogroll. Her blog is really nice, so if you have a few minutes, go check her out.

Alright, so moving on....the first post that really caught my eye:


Blueberry Scones

They just looked so good. I knew I was going to have to try them! So, I went on searching her blog for a few other things that I wanted to try....and boy did she deliver! I'll be posting later with a couple more recipes I tried from Brownies for Dinner....so be on the lookout!



The recipe is easy to follow and has no obscure ingredients. So, it made me happy!



I cheated as well, though, and didn't separate the scones prior to baking. What I did was put them in a "round" and cut them. Then I baked them for 10 minutes, pulled them out, cut them again and then separated them. Put them back in the oven and finished baking. They turned out fabulous (I think so anyway).

My daughters had them for breakfast and totally agreed!

Thanks Patricia!

PS) You can view the recipe and try them for yourself by clicking here.

Enjoy!
-Erica