Blueberries and Cream Muffins with Lemon Glaze

When it comes to grocery shopping, I'd like to think I'm a pretty organized person. I write out a list and mostly stick to it. The only exception is Costco. I can never leave that store without a few additional items in my cart that are new to the store or that I find while browsing the aisles.

A lot of times that also means I find inspiration for new recipes by discovering ingredients while out shopping. It is often that these finds will make my wheels start turning and I come up with ideas on the spot. Usually my poor husband is on the receiving end with recipes spewing out of my mouth as we continue our grocery haul. I do have to give him credit though, he always listens patiently and gives good constructive criticism, but I'm sure many times he would rather roll his eyes at his crazy wife.

Finding a big bag of dried blueberries at Costco was my inspiration for today's recipe. I kept thinking along the lines of cookies, but after inspecting my pantry and seeing a big jar of coconut oil and a bag of white chocolate chips the idea for a muffin recipe was born. While most blueberry muffins are made with fresh berries, the dried version works extremely well in this recipe and adds a lot of flavor without adding the extra liquid or discoloring the finished product. The addition of coconut oil over a more traditional canola oil added the slightest hint of coconut without overpowering the finished baked good, along with giving the muffins a light and airy texture.

A simple lemon powdered sugar glaze provides a nice contrast of flavors while adding a bit of tartness to the muffins, but you could certainly serve them as is. This recipe got two giant thumbs up in our family and has since been added to our favorites list.

Blueberries and Cream Muffins with Lemon Glaze
~makes about 15 muffins~
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:
For the muffins:
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup milk (almond milk is ok)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

For the glaze:
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
For the muffins: Pre-heat oven to 375° F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners OR grease well. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.

In another bowl combine eggs, sour cream, coconut oil, milk, and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. 

Fold in blueberries and white chocolate chips.

Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups filling each about 3/4 full and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

For the glaze: Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle over cooled muffins.

Notes: I used Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin coconut oil in these muffins. I found my giant container at Costco, but you can also find it online.

When using lemon zest in a recipe, I like to use an organic lemon. Most grocery stores carry them and they don't cost much more than conventional ones. 

A Susi's Kochen und Backen Original Recipe

Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake

Tomorrow I'm having a surgical procedure. Nothing huge, but I will receive general anesthesia and will most likely be quite uncomfortable for a few days. Stuff like this tends to give me a little bit of anxiety in the days leading up to it. To keep my mind of off things, I headed into the kitchen over the weekend to work on some recipes and posts so you guys would be well entertained during my "down time". Working in the kitchen, concentrating on a recipe, always has a calming effect on me and helps me to clear my head and this time was no different.

First thing I made was this Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake that I found once again on "Tasty Kitchen". It struck a chord with me right away for its flavor combination, but also for the simplicity of the recipe. Another bonus: getting rid of some of my very last frozen berries, which is perfect since fresh berry season is just around the corner. The cake is made quickly with just a few everyday items. Once baked, it almost appears like the cake has layers because of the blueberries sinking to the bottom and the taste is very reminiscent of an old fashioned cake you would find in Grandma's kitchen. The cake crumb is just lightly sweetened with hints of lemon throughout, without the citrus flavor being too overpowering. The buttermilk ensures a light and fluffy texture and the juiciness of the berries works perfectly. To top it all off, the cake has a crunchy sweet crust from sprinkled on sugar which is added right before baking. The sugar crust also helps balance the sweetness level.

This cake is simply wonderful for breakfast or even dessert, especially when enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea. Since I made this on the weekend it was an amazing early morning treat that everyone in the family gave the thumbs up to. This recipe worked great with the frozen berries and there was minimal "bleeding"; however, I'm really looking forward to making it again when fresh berries are in season. Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake; it's a good thing!

Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 large egg

1/2 cup buttermilk, well shaken

5 ounces fresh (or frozen, un-thawed) blueberries

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add the egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches, mixing until just combined. Carefully fold in berries.

Pour batter into cake pan, spreading and smoothing the top. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 35* minutes. Remove from oven  and cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack and cool for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Invert onto a plate and cut into 8 slices.

*When using fresh berries start checking the cake after 20 minutes 

Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

Ice Cream Fridays: Blueberries and Cream Ice Cream

Welcome to another edition of Ice Cream Fridays. Every Friday during the next few months (or until I get tired of it) you can look forward to a new ice cream recipe which will hopefully inspire you to break out your old dust covered ice cream maker that is hiding somewhere in a closet (yes, I'm talking about you). Since I'm always looking for inspiration and ideas, feel free to leave me a comment here on my blog or on my facebook page, and let me know what ice cream flavor you would like to see. Who knows, you might just get lucky and it will be featured the following week.

This weeks flavor was solely inspired by blueberries on sale everywhere. There was no way to pass up the gorgeous bounty at every store in the area.

This ice cream won me over solely on ease of preparation yet again. I don't mind making a custard and love the smoothness it lends to many ice creams, but when faced with standing over a stove for a while, or just mixing it up, ease will always win out, so I have more time to spend with my kids while they are on summer break.

I can't promise you that you will get by without turning on your stove for this one, but it is quick, painless, and doesn't require a lot of attention on your part. Fresh blueberries are added to a pot along with sugar and water, brought to a boil, removed from the heat source, and then steeped for about 30 minutes (see, painless). After that you add the whole mixture to a blender and let it rip until smooth. Strain it through a fine mesh strainer, and set it in your fridge for several hours. This was the "hard" part. After the blueberry mixture is thoroughly chilled, all you do is add heavy cream and fresh lemon juice and freeze in your ice cream maker. That's it!

This ice cream was fantastic for something that you wouldn't ordinarily find at any old grocery store. I loved that it only called for 1 cup of heavy cream for the whole batch rather than up to 2 cups that most other ice cream recipes call for. The most appealing aspect of this ice cream had to be the color though. It looked stunning in the book where I found it, and even better in real life. This is most definitely staying on my radar for blueberry season. If you are a big fan of blueberries, then this one is a must to try out!

Blueberries and Cream Ice Cream

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

2 cups (8 oz/ 250g) fresh blueberries

3/4 cup (6 fl oz/180 ml) water 

1 cup (8 oz/ 250 g) sugar

1 cup (8 fl oz/ 250 ml) heavy cream

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, combine the fresh blueberries, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally too help dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes to steep.

Transfer the blueberry mixture to a blender. Process until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Add the cream and lemon juice to the blueberry puree and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture in to an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving.

Adapted from: Williams-Sonoma Ice Cream

Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

Breakfast time is serious business at our home. My kids are unhappy if there isn't a good variety to choose from. They are quite satisfied if I have a couple of cereals to chose from or my breakfast burritos are in the freezer. I also tend to make muffins and freeze those for easy grab and go breakfasts, but with the temperatures outside being already hot in the morning, breakfast isn't as appealing as usually.

Since I believe that a well balanced breakfast is important to start the day right, I'm trying to come up with different choices for those already steamy mornings. This is where the Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie comes in handy. This smoothie is very easy to make, super filling, and perfect even if you are on the go.

The ingredients in this smoothie harmonize well together, but it also lends itself to a variety of different ingredients. Look at it like a blank canvas and just pick and choose whatever sounds good to you and your family. For example: soy milk, replace it with regular milk or almond milk. Don't care for bananas? Use a different fruit. Don't have strawberries? Go with raspberries or blackberries. Instead of honey, use brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup or agave nectar. The possibilities are endless.

This smoothie has been a staple for breakfast and even a few lunches for a couple of weeks now, and so far the kids have not grown tired of it and all it's endless combinations. The recipe makes 1 very large or two smaller smoothies but can easily be doubled. 

I hope you'll give this smoothie a try and enjoy it for your next breakfast as much as we do.

Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

 ~makes 2~
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup Vanilla soy milk (I use the light kind)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 banana, broken into chunks

14 frozen strawberries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 to 1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

In a blender add rolled oats. Process until almost powder like. Add soy milk, yogurt, banana, strawberries and blueberries, vanilla and honey. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

A Susi's Kochen und Backen Original Recipe