Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins

For some reason I really enjoy baking muffins. If I'm bored on a day off from work I'll think, "well, why don't I just make some muffins?" And then I will. I think it's because muffins are fairly easy to make, and I feel comfortable with them so I'm not afraid to experiment a little bit; and experimenting is what I love to do. Furthermore the muffins I make are a fairly modest treat, unlike the un-frosted cupcakes masquerading as muffins at most bakeries, so I don't feel bad or overly tempted having them around the house (but I must say, they don't last very long).

Usually, when I decide to make muffins I'll use whatever ingredients I have on hand at the time. After deciding on the star ingredient (in this case, blueberries) I'll browse recipes online to see what ingredients other people are pairing with blueberries and what ratios of flour, eggs, oil etc. they're using. Finally, after making some mental notes and likely having a few recipes up on my screen for reference, I'll start baking.

I almost always modify the recipes I work from and this is no exception. I looked at this recipe for general reference but made a ton of changes such as adding yogurt, taking out the buttermilk, lowering the oil content, using maple syrup as the sole sweetener (minus the sugar on top), among other things. If you take the time to try out this recipe (and really, you should), I have to suggest pairing it with a crossword puzzle, a sunlit room, and a hot cup of tea, because I don't know much else that makes a better morning.

Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins
very loosely adapted from Keeping Food True
makes about 9 muffins

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
heaping 1/3 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup water
1 3/4 cups fresh blueberries*
brown sugar or raw sugar for sprinkling

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan with canola oil or butter.

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients and in a small bowl combine all the wet. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined. Next, lightly stir in the blueberries until just incorporated. Using an ice cream scoop, transfer the batter to the muffin cups (each one should be about 3/4 full). Sprinkle the tops with brown sugar or raw sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

*this is A LOT of blueberries. If you don't want your muffins to be over-flowing with blueberries the way I like mine, I would suggest using decreasing the amount to 1 1/4 cups.