On Saturday morning after I got up and made coffee, I peeked in my fruit drawer and noticed pints on top of pints of blueberries that had somehow gone unused. Picking them up, I inspected them, took a bite, and decided that these perfectly ripe and juicy berries were to be wasted no more. I set off to make something with blueberries, what it was going to be, I had no clue. Flying by the seat of my pants, without a recipe, I got to brainstorming and decided that I really loved the flavor profile of my jazzed up banana bread.  I also knew that this recipe would lend itself well to a few tweaks and a pile of blueberries. Bonus points to my mom, as when taste tested my banana bread recipe, after telling me how much she liked it, she immediately said, “This would make a really great muffin.” Lightbulb! Blueberry muffins! So, I added some milk and blueberries to the recipe, played the recipe’s ratios, set the timer, and 30 minutes later I was greeted with the most fabulous smelling, heavenly, little blueberry pillows. Within an hour of making them, four of them were gone, and my husband said, with a full mouth of muffin, “You should share this recipe.” So, here is my recipe for my new favorite jazzed up blueberry muffins! They get their warmth from cinnamon, their lightness from the lemon zest and Greek yogurt, and their sweet smell and floral notes from plenty of vanilla extract. I think they are pretty wonderful and hope you will too!  

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 stick)

• 1/3 cup greek yogurt ( I used Fage 2%)

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup milk

• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

• 1 heaping cup blueberries

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl combine, flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir and set to the side.

3. In a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer, combine butter, sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in yogurt, then eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Add in vanilla, lemon zest and milk. I grated my lemon zest right over the bowl! I wanted my batter to catch all of the oil that is released when grating! Stir together.

4. Slowly pour in dry ingredients into wet, mixing until just combined.

5. Add in blueberries and bring together.

6. Divide batter evenly in 12 lined and greased muffin tins.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and tops of muffins spring back when touched.