Mother's Day Muffins

It seems that I'm a little behind in my postings. But, better late then never, I suppose. This recipe is totally worth the wait. I have made these muffins before, check here, but they deserve an encore. I made them this year for my Mother's day brunch along with a sandwich platter, overnight french toast bake, noodle salad along with a few other items. My mother is always happy when someone else is doing the cooking:) 

These muffins are bursting with blueberries and I love a thick layer of crumb topping. The first batch I made I didn't think that there was enough topping so I doubled the topping ingredients the second time and that is reflected in the recipe below. If you like less topping like the pictures here then just cut the ingredients in half. Enjoy

recipe from here

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients for muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh blueberries, I use a whole container
2 Tablespoons flour

Ingredients for the crumb topping:

4 Tablespoons butter, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. I was able to make 16-17 muffins.

Begin by making the crumb topping.
In a small bowl mix the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon until well mixed. Add the butter and rub it in until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
Cover and chill until ready to use.

In a small bowl add the blueberries and 2 tablespoons of flour. Toss until the berries are evenly coated. Set aside.

In a large bowl add the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon  Whisk until the mixture is well blended. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk the oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla until well mixed.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold them together. When most of the flour is moist add the blueberries and fold to incorporate evenly.

Scoop the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Top each with the crumb mixture. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 3 minutes before turning them onto a wire rack to cool.

me and the boys

my brother, mom and me

~Michelle

Strawberry and Lemon Bundt Cake

In my never ending search for delicious dessert recipes I came upon this moist and tasty bundt cake recipe. Fresh strawberries and fresh lemon juice made this the perfect dessert for Easter lunch.  I think that it would also make a great dessert for Mother's Day too.

I don't have any pictures of the whole cake because I took it for Easter lunch and then the leftovers to work that night, yes I worked on Easter, so all I had to photograph were a few slices.  I guess it was a hit.

 Easter Flowers

They are really blossoming. 

Just a sample of our Easter Eggs.

Strawberry and Lemon Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

3 Tablespoons lemon juice, divided

Zest of 2 lemons

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 oz plain or vanilla, Greek style yogurt

12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced

1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Sift together the 2 1/4 cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tablespoon of the lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated. 

Toss the diced strawberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.

Put the batter in the bundt pan. ( my batter was nice and thick). Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325F and bake for 60 - 70 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

I'm thinking next time even more strawberries!

~Michelle

original recipe from here