It's Berry Season! Two Great Recipes for Berry Muffins

I live in the Pacific Northwest and I think we grow the best berries. Many berries are wild--in fact, blackberries are wildly overenthusiastic "weeds" in these parts (although incredibly welcome weeds, I must say!). But when they start ripening, you'll see people all over the place--beside major highways, even--buckets in hand, stripping the bushes of all that luscious free fruit.

So what can we do with all that bounty? Of course, at the top of the heap of "things to do with berries" are pies and cobblers, frozen whole berries (for winter smoothies--yum!), and jams and jellies. Still, if you have even more berries to use up, try berry muffins.

I'm going to share two with you. The first recipe can use any kind of berry you can think of, and the second recipe is one I've made for about forever, and uses blueberries, although I don't see why you couldn't try a different type of berry if that's what you have. But I must say that the blueberry muffin recipe is a treat like no other, so at least try it as written once. I've made these recipes using fresh, frozen (but thawed and drained first), and home canned berries and they're all good. So use what you can lay your hands on and I think you'll be pleased.

Berry Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 1 T. sugar, divided
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup berries (blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, etc.)

Grease muffin pans. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In another bowl, stir together milk, butter, egg, and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Batter will be lumpy. Fold in berries.

Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake 20 minutes or until done.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup blueberries
sugar or cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the sugar and rolled oats and mix well.

In a large bowl, beat together the egg, milk, and butter. Add dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Fold in blueberries.

Fill greased muffin tins about 2/3 full and sprinkle a bit of sugar on top of each muffin. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.


The only thing left to do is enjoy!

I hope all is well with you and your loved ones.

Blessings to you and yours,
Georgia