Anyone who knows me, knows I loooove muffins. I think they're perfect little hand held excuses to have cake for breakfast or a snack. And it doesn't hurt if they taste good and are reasonably good for you.
These are all of those things. We had picked up a pint of blueberries (along with a bunch of other things) at Tuttle's Red Barn last weekend when we were out at the coast, and they were just begging to be added to some muffins. Tuttles is a family farm that's been around (and on the same land) since 1632. That's 376 years! The store/gift shop/fresh produce market/deli/bakery is huge and a lot of fun. We've been going there for years. I'd have taken pics, but I'm not yet at the point where I'm comfortable whipping out my camera and taking photos at a place that I'm not a tourist at. Silly, I know. But there are some photos on their site you can look at.
I was thinking they'd be good in a gingerbread muffin, but then thought that might be a little too heavy. Wanted something warm and spicy... Pumpkin pie spice? Apple pie spice? Nah... But then taking a look in the cupboard, I found it. Chai spice! Yeessssss!!!! Chai Blueberry Muffins.
And like all muffins, these are a snap to make. Dry ingredients added to wet ingredients, fold in your accessories, and you're ready to go. They're not overly sweet, so you may not want to cut the sugar in these. They're light, fluffy and moist and have a warm, spicy flavor. And they'd be great with apples, too!
Chai-berry Muffins
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp chai spice blend
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 pint blueberries
3/4 cup chopped pecans
Heat the oven to 350°. Grease a 12 muffin tin.
In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
To a larger bowl, add the oil, yogurt, sugar and vanilla, mix well with a hand mixer or by hand.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine a bit.
Grab a rubber spatula and fold in the berries and nuts.
Fill the muffin tins--an ice cream scoop makes for more evenly sized muffins, and it's much neater than a spoon.
Bake for about 25 minutes and check. They should be golden brown and a tester should come out clean.
Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes or so, then run a knife around the muffins, and turn them out on the
rack to cool.
My chai spice blend is from McCormick's, but if you can't find that, it's pretty common these days, or you can make your own. Here's a recipe by Chockylit for it if you'd like to make your own. And how good do those cupcakes look?
