Blue, Blue, Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins

 

In an earlier post this summer, I raved about The Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon (that name always makes me smile) and the two versions of cornbread salad we had tried out, both receiving enthusiastic reviews. Well, since then, it’s been hard for me to NOT bake and cook without cornmeal. Cornmeal breads, muffins, pancakes, etc. And my latest favorite muffin is her recipe for Blue, Blue Blueberry Muffins.  All the blue is the result of using blue cornmeal  and serving the muffins with a Blueberry-Cream Cheese-Honey Butter. Okay, have I your attention now? Are you hooked? Shall I start reeling you in???

 

These are unbelievably tender and moist, and the main spice in the recipe, nutmeg, sets off the flavor of the blueberries and the cornmeal beautifully. (I am somewhat biased—most dishes are considered incomplete without at least a little nutmeg thrown in). And when you top the warm muffins with the meltingly delicious blueberry butter—moment of silence, please.

 

Now, if you are not able to find blue cornmeal, yellow is fine, and you end up with another lovely version, just less blue! Blue cornmeal is not easily accessible up here where I live in northern MI, so I’ve made these frequently with yellow cornmeal, as you can see here—

 

 

 

 

So if you have stockpiled a good amount of end-of-the-summer blueberries  AND you are a lover of corn AND need some muffins to warm you up on the crisp mornings arriving with the turn of the season, this recipe is for you. One note: When I made these muffins, I did notice that it only made 12 of what I would call standard sized muffins—if I had tried to make 18 muffins out of this, they would have definitely been on the small side.

 

 

Blue, Blue Blueberry Corn Muffins

From The Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon

 

Vegetable Oil cooking spray or muffin papers

1 2/3 c. unbleached white flour, divided

1/3 c. stone-ground blue cornmeal

½ t. salt

1 T. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

1/3 cup butter, at room temperature

½  c. sugar

1 egg

½ t. pure vanilla extract

¼ t. freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup low-fat milk, plain or vanilla

    Soy milk, or a combination (see Note)

1 cup blueberries

½ c. chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

 

1.       Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray 18 standard-size or 12 large muffin-tin

      cups with oil, or line the cups with papers.

2.       Stir together the flour, blue cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a large bowl. Set aside.

3.       Cream together the butter and sugar in a small bowl, then beat in the egg, vanilla and nutmeg.

4.       Stir the creamed mixture into the dry mixture along with the milk, until not quite blended. Then add the blueberries and the walnuts, if using, with just a couple of strokes, so the mixture is just barely combined. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups.

5.       Bake until the edges of the muffins are golden brown and the caps are rounded and also golden, 22 to 27 minutes. Let cool for just a few minutes, then remove from the cups. Serve warm with blueberry-cream cheese-honey butter if you like.