Well, now you all know why I have neglected this blog so horribly. A month ago we welcomed Squeaker into our family and that has kind of taken over our lives. Until the birth I was working extra hard so that people at work wouldn’t suffer too much while I was gone, and since Squeaker sleeps best while being held, there hasn’t been a lot of baking or much of anything that requires two hands going on. For anyone who is curious as to why her nickname is Squeaker, it’s because when she starts crying, it starts out as a bunch of squeaks, but don’t worry, when she gets going, it’s a full blown scream :).
As I have not had time to bake recently, I am posting a few older recipes that I made a while ago that I have been horribly bad about posting. Today we will indulge in Julia Child’s Blueberry Muffins. This recipe comes to us from Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking with Julia which is based on Julia Child’s cooking show. I picked up this book, along with a few others, while we were in America this summer. As we were in America, I really wanted to take advantage of the fresh berries that we can’t get in Israel. I decided on blueberry muffins, because they are awesome all the time, and I have missed them so much. So here we are.
They were quite delicious, as I recall, I didn’t manage to actually store them as they were quickly eaten up by everyone in the house (there were a lot of people around). Definitely worth making again, the next time I can get fresh blueberries. Oh Costco – how wonderful you are!
Recipe (From Baking with Julia):
1 3/4 cup cake flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. salt
1 pint fresh blueberries
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream (or milk with a little vinegar)
1 stick unsalted margarine
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.
Sift the cake flour, baking soda, cream of tarter and salt together. Toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, stir the milk and sour cream together. In a mixer, beat the margarine until white and pale, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture no longer feels grainy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and yolk and beat until the mixture is fluffy.
Sift half the dry ingredients into the margarine/sugar/egg mixture. Add half of the milk/sour cream mixture and delicately fold the ingredients together, stopping when just barely combined. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle the blueberries over the mixture and mix until just barely incorporated.
Fill each muffin cup at least 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops (which will be flat) are golden and spring back when lightly pressed. Allow the muffins to cool for 10-15 minutes on a rack before serving.
The Unappreciated Baker 