Blueberry Bran Muffins

Perfect Pairing: Single servings of unsweetened applesauce

Last June I posted about the “Best Ever Blueberry Muffins”.  Those muffins are really, really good, probably because of the streusel topping.  They are great for a special family breakfast or brunch.

 

I mentioned in that post that I have a favorite blueberry bran muffin recipe that I make all the time.  While this version is not as over the top delicious as the streuselfied version, they are still really tasty.  The best part is that you can feel good about having these as part of your normal breakfast rotation.  They are made with wheat bran, unsweetened applesauce, whole wheat flour, and just a half cup of regular flour and two thirds cup brown sugar.  They come out to about 100 calories per muffin with less than a gram of fat and over 4 grams of fiber.

I follow this recipe from AllRecipes.com exactly except I use a half pint of blueberries rather than measuring out one cup of berries.  I used to buy the jars of applesauce, use what I need for the recipe, and then inevitably throw it away a couple months later when I have not touched the jar again.  If you buy the single serving packs of unsweetened applesauce they typically come in 4 oz containers, which is perfect for this recipe.  I find I am much more likely to grab the leftover servings for my midday snack at work.

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Blueberry Cobbler Bars

Perfect Pairing:  A crowd

I ran across this recipe on Framed cooking blog.  I have discovered lots of tasty things on her site!  The photographs are beautiful.  You could definitely lose track of time clicking through all of her great recipes.  I made a batch of these blueberry cobbler bars over Easter weekend and they were a big hit with the family.

The crust and topping is like lemon shortbread.  I love the method of making lemon sugar with the zest of two lemons.  It actually made the entire kitchen smell like fresh lemon. 

The only thing that made me thick twice about the recipe was the amount of butter.  I just couldn’t bring myself to unwrap the final stick so I made the recipe with two sticks instead of three, and it was perfectly fine.  In fact, it was delicious!  You would not miss the extra butter.

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is a crowd.  The bars are made in a 12x17 inch pan so it makes a huge batch. 

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Best Ever Blueberry Muffins

Perfect Pairing: Hard boiled eggs

Imagine the best blueberry muffin you have ever had….  Got it?  I would be willing to bet that it is not as good as this recipe. 

I ran across these blueberry muffins on the blog, Cutting Edge of Ordinary.  She called them To Die For Blueberry Muffins, and that is about right.  I am calling them Best Ever Blueberry Muffins.  Whatever you call them, they are outstanding.  Thank you for sharing this recipe! 

I have a blueberry bran muffin recipe that I make all the time that is light and healthy.  I will share that on the blog in the future.  When I want something a little more decadent, I will be making this version.  The crunchy streusel topping sends them over the top.  You may just want to double the batch.

The Perfect Pairing for these muffins are hard boiled eggs.  I made them for Easter breakfast and they were great with the eggs.  It was a light breakfast with protein and something a little sweet.  The best thing about this breakfast is that it can all be made ahead of time and set out in the morning. 

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Lemon Yogurt Cake

Perfect Pairing:  Blueberry Sauce

I love cooking.  I have a blog dedicated to the fact that I love cooking and sharing recipes with people.  I could spend hours going through cookbooks and cooking magazines.  I will spend a ridiculous amount of time picking out the perfect menu for an occasion, and I thoroughly enjoy every moment of it.  Chopping, stirring, grating, and prepping are all therapeutic to me.

Food photography is a different story.  I often find myself frustrated over lighting, props, and backgrounds.  There have been a few great recipes that I would love to share, but when I try to photograph the finished product the picture just does not do it justice.  I end up not posting the recipe until I can make it again and try the photo in a different environment.   I recently made a French onion fondue appetizer that was very tasty.  I loved the recipe and flavor, but oh my goodness the picture was not good.  Hopefully I will be able to figure out a different way to photograph it because I do want to share that recipe.

Desserts are my friend when it comes to photography.  I don’t know why, but they always seem much more photogenic than a soup or salad.  Maybe it is that many desserts have structure and pretty colors and lines.  I have come to enjoy shooting sweets.  This cake was a good example. I just think it looks so pretty and feminine.  I imagine distinguished ladies enjoying it after lunch with a glass of tea. 

This lemon yogurt cake recipe came from the Barefoot Contessa.  Since baking is almost a scientific formula, I did not make many deviations from her recipe.  I did choose to use 0% fat Greek yogurt instead of whole milk yogurt.  It turned out beautifully.  It was light and refreshing.  I had some leftover, so I sliced it and wrapped each individual piece in plastic wrap and froze the slices in a Ziploc.  It was still delicious after being frozen.

The Perfect Pairing for this cake is homemade blueberry sauce.  The sauce is simple to prepare and absolutely divine.  The berries were a great compliment to the lemon cake.  I am pretty sure this sauce would be great on anything.  I stirred some into my morning oatmeal and that was pretty awesome.

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Blueberry Lemon Flognarde

Perfect Pairing:  Brulee Dishes from World Market

While name of this dish is a little strange, don’t let that deter you, it is really simple to make.  A flognarde is a French dessert, which is basically a clafoutis that is made with a fruit other than cherries.  The texture is a cross between flan and custard.  The lemon and blueberries add a bright flavor and pair nicely with a dollop of whipped cream on top.  You can make this recipe in a 9 inch pie plate or you can split it into 5 or 6 ramekins.  It is great warm or chilled.  I would recommend putting a cookie sheet underneath the baking dishes because there may be some spillover… as you can see in my photo.  Oops.  I think it adds character!

The Perfect Pairing for this dessert are brulee dishes that are available at World Market.  I had always wanted a set of these dishes but it seemed like an unnecessary expense.  One day while strolling around World Market I noticed that they were under $3 each.  Now, that is a steal.  They are oven safe and dishwasher friendly.  I don’t have any plans to make crème brulee in them because that would mean I need a kitchen torch… probably another unnecessary expense, but I don’t think I will have any trouble putting these cute dishes to good use!

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Blueberry Crisp

Perfect Pairing: Vanilla ice cream

This is officially my new favorite dessert…. to eat and make!   There is nothing exceedingly fancy or sophisticated about this blueberry crisp but it is so tasty and very easy to make.  I adapted a recipe that was recently featured in Cooking Light magazine.  I added some lemon zest to the berries, removed the walnuts, decreased the salt, increased the cinnamon and doubled the amount of oatmeal.  All of these changes are noted below.

The blueberries are tossed with corn starch, vanilla, brown sugar and lemon zest.  They are topped with a combination of flour, cornmeal (adds a nice crunch), brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and oatmeal.  The oatmeal portion is combined in a food processor which makes it a piece of cake, er crisp, to put together but it chops up the oatmeal more than I would like.  I like to sprinkle some whole old fashioned oats on top right before it goes in the oven so you still see the oats.

The Perfect Pairing for this crisp is nothing original but it is a necessity.  This blueberry crisp is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.  Enough said.

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