Do you know the muffin (wo)man?

I adore muffins!  They are flakey and full of flavor.  I realize that too much of a good thing is not good and muffins are one of those things, but I cannot resist them.  Over the holidays I made two new kinds of muffins.  The first is blueberry sour cream muffins.

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins
from The Sono Baking Company Cookbook


2 cups plus 1 tbls all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 tsp coarse salt
2 lg eggs, at room temp
1 1/2 pure vanilla extract
grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup sour cream
coarse sanding sugar, for finishing


1. Set the oven rack in the middle position.  Preheat the oven to 375.  Spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray, or generously butter with softened butter; set aside.


2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.  Toss the blueberries in a sieve with the remaining 1 tbs flour; set aside.


3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.


4. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, beating just until the flour is absorbed.  Add the sour cream, beating until combined.  Gently fold in the blueberries with a rubber spatula.


5. Use a 2-inch ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups.  Sprinkle with the sanding sugar.


6. Bake, rotating the pan about two-thirds of the way through the baking time, until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched and a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.


7.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.  Use an offset spatula or table knife to gently lift and turn the muffins on their sides in the muffin cups.  Let cool completely in the pan.




These muffins turned out really well.  I did not use any sanding sugar though.  I couldn't find any at my local grocery store.






Now these beauties are Banana Streusel Muffins!

Banana Streusel Muffins
from The Sono Baking Company Cookbook


Streusel Topping
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes


Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp.
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 lg eggs, at room temp.
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 very ripe bananas
1/2 buttermilk, sour cream, or whole-milk yogurt
1 1/2 cups whole walnuts, chopped (optional)


1. To make the streusel topping: in a medium bowl, use a fork to stir together the four, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Add the cubes of butter, and using your fingertips, work it into the dry ingredients until pea-size crumbs form; set aside in refrigerator.


2. Set the oven rack in the middle position.  Preheat the oven to 375.  Spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray, or generously butter with softened butter; set aside.


3. To make the muffins: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.


4. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Then add in and beat the vanilla and the bananas.


5. With the mixer on ow speed, add the dry ingredients, beating until the flour is absorbed.  Beat in the buttermilk. Fold in the walnuts, if using.


6. Use a 2-inch ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups.  Sprinkle the streusel topping over the muffins, pressing some of the misture into pea-size clumps with your fingertips, for added texture.


7. Bake, rotating the pan about two-thirds of the way through the baking time, until the tops of the muffins spring back with touched and a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes.


8. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.  Use a small offset spatula or a table knife to gently lift and turn the muffins on their sides in the muffin cups.  Let cool completely in the pan.