Orange Blueberry Muffins

Now that we're a few days into 2009, it means that we need to get back into the swing of things. For us, that means going back to work, thinking about what we can pack for breakfast and lunch and what we can put together quickly for dinner. Muffins have always been a great solution for a breakfast that you can pack up and eat at the office, but I haven't yet been able to find a recipe that I like. Instead of searching, I decided to try my own creation: Orange Blueberry Muffins.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons butter, melted

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

zest of 1 orange

juice of 1 orange

2/3 cup sour cream (I use fat free)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup blueberries

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

STEPS

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large bowl or a mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Then add the eggs, orange zest and orange juice. Blend until well mixed, then add the sour cream and vanilla extract and mix in thoroughly.
• In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg together. Then fold it in to the wet mixture until just combined. Then stir in the blueberries. Do not overmix.
• Pour into a greased muffin tray or a tray lined with paper muffin cups. Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 22 minutes. Makes 12 standard sized muffins.

**Result: A really light, fluffy and tasty muffin. It has a nice, crispy outside and a very soft inside. There's just enough orange flavour that balances nicely with the blueberries. This is a winner! In the future, I'll modify the recipe to make different kinds of muffins like lemon cranberry, apple cinnamon or even carrot muffins.

Pumpkin Muffins

In keeping with the season, I decided to make something from pumpkin puree. I'll admit, I used canned pumpkin this time, but I have a sugar pumpkin waiting for me to make puree out of it. I plan to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving next weekend and will post about it later.

But anyway, I made pumpkin muffins and used some of the apple sauce I made earlier.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
2 cups pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple sauce

2/3 cup water

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 muffin tins or line them with paper muffin cups.
2. In the mixer bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, and the sugars until mixed together.
3. In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and spices.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture at a slow speed and just until mixed in.
5. Spoon into the muffin cups and bake for 30 - 35 minutes.

These are great breakfast muffins. If you like, you can add chopped nuts or dried fruit to the recipe or you can drizzle with a citrus glaze.