Blueberry Lemon Muffins

    You have to get creative when you cook with a toddler. Every once in a while I can sneak into the kitchen while Helen plays contently by herself, but for the most part I have to find some way of including her. 

    Sometimes I open a cupboard for her to play in. Other times I put her in her high chair and either give her a snack or a bowl of water to play with. She gets sopping wet, but those minutes of peace are worth it.

    She is also very curious about whatever I'm photographing. My backdrop is on the floor, so she has easy access to my creations. Thus the chubby baby hands in my photos. But it's preferable to her whining while I take pictures.

    If there are any moms out there with ideas for keeping a toddler occupied, LET ME KNOW.

    But about these muffins.

    They were delicious: moist, tender, and full of flavor. The butter-lemon glaze was, surprisingly enough, my favorite part. Now that Reuben has me hooked on all things lemon, I love any added citrus flavor.

I shared these with my sister and her family (her husband made me a latte in exchange) and we all enjoyed them.

    Note: I used sprouted flour, and the results were better than I could have believed possible. You could hardly tell that they were 100% whole wheat.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

adapted from My Baking Addiction | makes 12-16 muffins | Printable Page

Ingredients:

For the Muffins:

• 2 2/3 cups sprouted wheat flour (I used my homemade sprouted flour, but I like this brand.)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• zest of 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
• 1/3 cup sucanat
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

For the Glaze:

• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup organic confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

To Make the Muffins:

1) Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). Line a standard muffin tin with baking cups (I halved the recipe and got more than 6 muffins).

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

3) In another medium bowl, mix together the lemon zest and sugars with your fingertips until moist and fragrant.

4) Cream together the butter (softened and melted) and lemon zest-sugar mixture until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.

5) Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating between adding the flour and the milk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix just until combined. Fold in the blueberries.

6) Spoon the batter into the muffin tin. Fill the cups almost up to the top. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out nearly clean, 15-18 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool slightly.

To Make the Glaze:

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the glaze ingredients. 

2) Once the muffins have cooled a bit, dip the top of each one into the glaze. Let the glaze cool a little and re-dip if desired (I desired).

3) Store the muffins in an airtight container for about a day or so.