Watching More Cooking Shows @ The Gym!

If you know me you know I like to watch cooking shows during my workouts (or any other time of the day for that matter). There's no Food Network at my gym but PBS is available and they air America's Test Kitchen around lunch time. It's quickly become one of my favorite shows cuz they have great recipes and the Product Taste Tests and Equipment Guides are really helpful too! I watched an episode on Blueberry Muffins earlier this week and have been wanting to make them ever since. They're different than any other muffins I've made before cuz besides the berries themself, you also add a swirl of blueberry jam. The jam is basically just blueberries cooked down with some sugar but it really takes the muffins to a whole new level! I omitted the Lemon Sugar Topping cuz I didn't have any lemons but they came out really yummy anyway. This is a MUST try recipe if you like Blueberry Muffins and I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't?

Ingredients: (12 muffins)


2 c fresh blueberries
1 c + 1 tsp sugar
2-1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 c buttermilk
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Prep:


1. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with a spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1/2 cup, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool to room temperature, 10-15 minutes.


2. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray or line 12 muffin cups.


3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 1 cup sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds (remember, 80 strokes). Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. The batter will be very lumpy with spots of dry flour; do not overmix!


4. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon 1 teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound, pushing it below the surface. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure eight motion.


5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, about 17-19 minutes, rotating muffin tin (front to back) halfway through cooking time. Cool muffins in tin for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool 5 more minutes before serving.