Blueberry Coconut Macadamia Muffins

Goodness gracious, are these muffins delicious!  They're packed with lots of different flavors that blend very nicely into a moist, crunchy but yet soft, delicious muffin.  I found the recipe on EatingWell.com, through a google search looking for healthy but yet delicious brunch-type items.  I gave this recipe a try last night and on all accounts, it is a fabulous recipe.  I didn't have any problems with the batter, not baking time.  The only problem I had was waiting the suggested time after they came out of the oven.  I still burned my mouth a little because I couldn't wait, but it was definitely worth it!

Topping
1/4 c. unsweetened coconut
2 Tbl. flour
2 Tbl. brown sugar
2 Tbl. chopped macadamia nuts
1 Tbl. oil

Muffin
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 Tbl. chopped macadamia nuts
1 Tbl. canola oil
1 c. whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 large egg
1 large egg white
3/4 c. nonfat buttermilk
2 Tbl. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. coconut or vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen (though not thawed) blueberries

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.  I used baking liner cups and sprayed them with spray.
2.  Combine all topping ingredients and set aside.
3.  Mix together flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
4.  Whisk brown sugar, oil, egg, egg white, buttermilk and extract in a (different) medium bowl until well combined.
5.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
6.  Add blueberries and remaining macadamia nuts, stir just to combine.
7.  Divide batter among the muffin cups (about 1/4 c. of batter per muffin).  Sprinkle and gently press the topping on the tops of the muffins (about 1 tsp. per muffin).
8.  Bake muffins about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack at least 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts (per muffin)
calories: 204
total fat: 8.8g
sat. fat: 2.6g
cholest.: 23mg
sodium: 44mg
carb.: 28.9g
fiber: 1.8g
sugar: 13g
protein: 4g

Blueberry Muffins

Zak and I love blueberry muffins, so naturally, when I got a big box of them last week, decided to make some. I looked around for awhile for a healthier version, and finally stumbled across the one I tried out. They were delicious, moist and will be made again soon. Plus, they are under 100 calories for each muffin, not bad at all!

1 3/4 c. flour

3/4 c. light brown sugar

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/4 c. low fat buttermilk

1 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 large egg

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 - 2 c. fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees; lightly coat muffin pan with cooking spray, or place baking cups in pan.

2. Mix together 1 1/2 c. flour, sugar, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture.

3. Whisk together buttermilk, applesauce, egg, oil and vanilla in a medium bowl.

4. Lightly coat the blueberries by tossing them with the 1/4 c. flour in a small bowl.

5. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until batter is just moistened. Fold in the blueberries.

6. Divide the mixture evenly among muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes.

This recipe made 24 beautiful, similar-sized muffins.

Delicious Fruit Cobbler

I modified this recipe I found in a cookbook. Well, we had peaches, strawberries, bananas and some frozen blueberries, and no cherries. Besides, doesn't the combination of that fruit sound better than just cherries? Yes. Yes it does. This cobbler was so good (both cold and warm) that Zak ended up licking the bowl. He loved it and I will be surely making this again this summer. It's a homerun.

1 c. flour
2 Tbl. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1/4 c. butter
5 c. fresh (or frozen, but it's summer, go for fresh!) fruit [I used three peaches, several larger strawberries, one banana, and it was about 1/2 c. frozen blueberries. I just tried to get at least 5 cups of fruit]
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1 Tbl. cornstarch
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
whipped cream (we make our own with whipping cream and a few Tbl. of sugar and a dash of vanilla, way better than store-bought stuff) OR vanilla ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. For topping, stir together (in medium bowl) flour, 2 Tbl. sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (if desired). Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside.
3. For filling, in large saucepan, combine the fruit, 2/3 c. sugar, water, cornstarch. Cook over medium heat until it starts to bubble and thicken.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg and milk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.
5. Pour fruit mixture in 2-quart square pan (I used my 8x8"). Using a spoon, drop topping into six mounds on top of the filling.
6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until topping is golden brown (18 was the magic number for me). Let cool in pan on a wire rack about 1 hour. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

before adding the topping

cooling

super delicious!

Blueberry and Sour Cream Crumb Coffee Cake

Last week I made delicious blueberry muffins, but still had a ton of blueberries left over. So I went on a search to find a recipe to use them with. I know Zak likes sour cream-blueberry pie, but that option was eliminated once I discovered we didn't have enough graham crackers to make a pie crust, and I didn't have the car to go grab a pie crust. Instead, I found this wonderful recipe on recipezaar, one of my favorite cooking websites. This recipe was absolutely delectable and will be a keeper!

Filling
1/2 lb. blueberries (I probably used a bit more than 1/2 lb.)
2 Tbl. sugar
2 Tbl. cornstarch

Crumbs
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 3/4 c. flour

Cake
1/3 c. sour cream
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbl. butter, softened, cut into 6 - 8 pieces

1. Preheat oven to 325-degrees.
2. Toss together the filling ingredients.
3. Whisk together all of the crumb ingredients, except the flour (brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, salt, melted butter) until smooth.
4. Add the flour in--the dough will look solid.
5. In a small bowl, mix together sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
6. In mixer, add flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
7. Add butter and one spoonful of sour cream mixture until moist-mix for about 30 seconds.
8. Add remaining sour cream mixture, in two batches, mixing for 20 seconds each time.
9. Reserve 1/2 c. of entire cake batter mixture.
10. Pour the rest of batter into an 8x8-inch pan.
11. Add blueberries, then 1/2 c. of reserved mixture.
12. Sprinkle crumbs over top-should be about 1/2" - 3/4" in size.
13. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes. Cool completely.