SO WHAT DO YOU DO WITH MUSHY OVERRIPE BLUEBERRIES YOU ASK? You cook with them! Of course! When you cook with them, you’re not expecting crispy crunchy blueberries that pop! They’re supposed to be mushy! And if your blueberries are a little bland? NO PROBLEM! Sweeten up your baked goods by other means 🙂 See? Perfect.
The issue was I don’t usually have cow’s milk, and I ran out of eggs. So I read a couple of recipes here and there and got a ‘feel’ for this blueberry baked muffin recipe and then VOILA, I created my own! A true recipe for disaster most often since I’m a terrible intuitive baker (is there a thing as an intuitive baker?), but this time, we were ALL pleasantly surprised! Besides my little sister who prefers the ‘normal’ full dairy full sugar all eggs type of gal…lol but she’s young and she’s allowed to indulge. I’m 76 this year (or at least I feel like it) so I am less ..allowed.
Ingredients:
– 1 cup of blueberries (frozen or fresh)
Wet
– 1 chia egg (replaces 1 egg: 1 tbsp chia seeds & 3 tbsp warm water)
– 1/8 cup avocado oil
-1/4 cup melted butter
– 2 tbsp oat milk or whatever milk you have
– 1 cup greek yogurt or normal yogurt
– 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
Dry
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 2 cups all purpose flour
–Â 1/2 cup date sugar (1 cup if you like yours normal sweetness, any other sugar works too)
** I used twice as many blueberries and got a very blueberry muffin. It’s less muffin-ny and more blueberry-y, but it was our intention to use up all our blueberries so it is what it is and what it is is delicious anyways!
Steps:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Combine the wet ingredients
2. Combine your dry ingredients
3. Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until no more ‘dry’ exists. If you find your batter is a bit ‘too dry’, splash in a bit more of your milk and combine until you feel the consistency is right.
4. Fold in your blueberries
5. Put in your cupcake paper tin things (trust me, you want to put paper cupcake liners in)
6. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until your toothpick/skewer test comes out clean
This is best cooled all the way. I know because I burnt the roof of my mouth eating two of these out of the oven last night (still pretty good)…and then I had another one this morning and it was much easier to eat and tasted yummier too! Something about being able to use all your taste buds and eating it calmly may have contributed to my preference, but who knows I’ll try it again straight out of the oven to let you know next time 😉
Happy eating!
An accurate description of what actually conspired
I was asked to give..an accurate description of what actually conspired to make these muffins. Right now, we just had dinner, I just cleaned up, and husby’s taking care of the babes, and I really am digging my quiet time avoiding other responsibilities right now, so why not.
It was a dark and stormy night.. somewhere in the world last night. It was high 80’s where we were though with bright and sunny skies I desperately tried avoiding all day by shutting all the blinds so the AC doesn’t run too hard. I was still a hormonal mother sweating all day, figuratively wrestling with my husband about when we should run the AC throughout the day and emailing him non-trivial things as I worked downstairs and him upstairs — too far for me to verbally communicate without a bunch of HUH, WHAT, WHAT DID YOU SAY? DID SHE POOP? I CAN’T HEAR YOU being passed back and forth to raise my blood pressure to new highs. I was physically wrestling with my child, shaking her off the different limbs of my body she chooses to attach herself as she has become increasingly defiant in matters of diaper changing, eating like a normal human child, and crawling pass the hundreds of dollars of toys mommy and daddy bought for her only to pull on the blinds, slap the television, and pull mommy’s laptop charger.
I knew my sister was going to be unable to help the next day so I asked her to bathe my child before dinner even started. I was exhausted and already feeling even more exhausted about the next day. Baby and I co-sleep and she smells much more pleasant bathed at night, as do we all. This was a good move. Win for smartest mom of the year, me, to have thought so far ahead to take advantage of free labor of willing youth. *Silent mental fist shaking*
My husband finished his meal and started to work on the colander of blueberries set out besides him. He was not pleased. Em, did you get these blueberries from Costco? I panicked and blurted back, THEY’RE ORGANIC, a random and unnecessary comment to divert his attention away from his question. As a family of 3, I already know Costco sized fruit packages were too much for our family to handle, but dang, I ain’t getting ripped off at Whole Foods Paycheck again especially when I visit Costco! Whole foods can take my money for other things I don’t need!
They’re mushy and all ..soft he says followed by yet again, another that’s what she said comment for the kazillionth time of the day cause I’m married to a man-child. DANG IT AGAIN. I was hoping his lack of culinary awareness would have him eating blueberries by the handful so I could rid myself of the mushy berries I had no appetite to eat all awhile justifying my unrealistic purchase at Costco once again.
Help me eat them em (what he calls me). No, I don’t want any. Well, what are you going to do with them? You can eat them. I can’t eat all of this, this is a lot. You’re the dad, try harder (I also don’t know what him being a dad has to do with this FYI).Â
Secretly, I knew what I was going to do with them. What we always do with fruit that do not meet our expectations or that I buy in excess.. I was going to leave them in the fridge until one or two got moldy and had a proper excuse to get rid of them, in the compost though because it’s not a waste if it goes back to the earth right?
You should bake with them. OH SNAP, I am tired, but moved to action by my husband’s sudden constructive thought. SISTER, look up recipes for blueberry muffins! (She’s like a really efficient Google or Alexa)
All these recipes require eggs and milk Chi Nhung do you have any. She quickly looks through the fridge herself knowing I am not my fridge’s keeper and wouldn’t be able to recall contents without a mental breakdown, looks up at me (I’m still a little taller), and with a hardened face, she breaks the news to me, I had neither eggs or milk. DUN DUN DUNNNNN.
DANGIT.
Feeling cheated by Costco, I was suddenly fueled by the potential of my husband banning me from ever purchasing blueberries in bulk again at Costco and declared at that moment, I WILL BAKE ANYWAYS!
My sister then without appropriate reason reminded me that the store was literally minutes away and those eggs and carton of milk were all very well within reach, but she didn’t understand. She never understands..the extent in which my laziness reaches at the end of the day. That task is much more impossible.
I read 6 different recipes that night and used bits of each to create my own creation. The batter looked funny, so I commanded the SISTER again. SISTER LOOK UP WHAT MUFFIN BATTER LOOKS LIKE.
This looks too dry. Don’t muffins usually have butter? Let’s add butter, but not too much because postpartum bods getting out of control over here. My sister looks at me, judging me as though she were Judge Judy on her higher than mine chair. She’s probably on a bar stool. Those are tall.
These recipes don’t call for butter? MELT ME SOME BUTTER ANYWAYS, DANGIT! My sister reluctantly takes out the butter..and softens it even though I explicitly asked for it melted. Because she is defiant. But what can I do? Melt the butter myself?? I THINK NOT. Maybe my baby is learning her defiance from her aunty. I would remove my baby from her auntie’s presence, but I need her to tame the child while I work. We can’t win everything. I quickly make peace with her defiance.
Unsure of how to mix the batter with SOFTENED and not MELTED butter which I HAD ASKED FOR.. I slap my hands into the batter ready to evenly distribute the SOFTENED butter, and my sister starts making noises of distress. WHAT ARE YOU DOING ,THE RECIPE DOES NOT SAY PUT YOUR HANDS IN IT. WHY ARE YOUR HANDS IN THERE?!
WELL SISTER, HOW ELSE DO YOU SUGGEST I MIX SOFTENED BUTTER IN HERE? IDK, A SPATULA? OH SHIT that’s a great idea, you should of said something earlier, now it’s too late. No, it isn’t. Yes, it actually is. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN.Â
Alrighty, I’d finish this up, but my husband just went to put our baby to sleep which means I can go upstairs and watch my kdrama in peace now. You should already know what happens in the end..I eat the muffins. They were delicious, and I am free to buy them again in the future at Costco!