Awesome-est Blueberry Muffins

It has indeed been a long long while since I said hi to all my friends in the kitchen - my oven, my KA, my whisk, my weighing scale etc. I really miss you guys so much!! I want to come near you to be with you but I just couldn't do so earlier. But I'm back, bit by bit and I hope for very long while too. May our friendship blossom!!

Making my comeback to cooking and baking (haha), we are already in the month of September!! For September's Cook like a Star, we are cooking and baking like Ree Drummond aka Pioneer Woman! Or rather, we are trying to be like her ;) Are you sure you haven't heard of her?? She was on Forbes Top 25 Web Celebrities in February 2010. From a city girl, she 'transformed' into a cowgirl when she fell in love with a rugged cowboy who lives on a working cattle ranch. Interesting 'cowtale' isn't it? Visit Pioneer Woman here.

Source: www.foodnetwork.com

When I first heard of Pioneer Woman and her blog, I checked out many of her recipes. I was very much intrigued by her lively posts, quirky sense of humour and her step by step recipes. Most of them do mean to me that she is very much a savoury person just like me. But of course, we do have our sweet moments too :) She is well known for her cinnamon rolls which is something I hope to attempt really soon. For now, this recipe caught my eye.

After so many days of not being able to eat this and that and that, my palate definitely feels like blueberries ;) Those blueberries at the supermarket did catch my eye.

According to PW, this recipe was one of the finalists in a dairy contest held by her. And her verdict says that these muffins were delicious due to the yoghurt in the muffins. Notice the that the only fats used in this recipe is the vegetable oil. Apart from that, yoghurt is a great substitute for high fat ingredients in baking. It also adds a creamy texture and tenderness to your muffins. See my modifications in blue.

Ingredients:

• 360g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Heavy pinch of salt
• Dash of Nutmeg
• 225g 200g sugar
• 109g vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 245g plain, unflavored yogurt (throw in extra if you want)
• 380g fresh blueberries
• 1-2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Softened Butter, for muffin tins
• Turbinado sugar (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 385 degrees.
2. In a large bowl sift flour, baking soda, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl whisk together sugar, oil, cap-ful of vanilla, egg, and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients and stir to a count of 10.
4. Add blueberries, reserving 1/2 cup, to mixture and stir 3 times.
5. Add mixture to well-buttered muffin pans. 
6. Sprinkle remaining berries on top and press down lightly. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top. (Brown sugar can be used instead.)
7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes and allow to cool completely.

Did you see how fresh those blueberries were? Yes, they were plump and juicy, just the way I like them.

I like to use fanciful cupcake papers too :P Anything to get you baking and eating all those yummy baked goodness.

Did you see some bursting blueberries at the corner bottom there? Yes, they smell awesome!

I like how this one here stands proud and tall. Did I mention that although I didn't use any butter, they still smell inviting?

Now I'm going to have some yummy awesome-est blueberry muffins for breakfast tomorrow! YAY!!

I am submitting this post to the monthly event, Cook like a Star hosted by Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake. To join us, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Ree Drummond websites or cookbooks for the whole month of September 2013. You can link your posts at any one of the hosts' websites.

Your post must be a current post for September 2013 - please do not link older posts. Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Mich of Piece of Cake and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.