BLUE BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position

The Batter:

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs (just whip them up with a fork)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw if they’re frozen)
2 cups plus one Tablespoon flour (no need to sift)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup blueberry pie filling
Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup softened butter (1/2 stick)
Grease the bottoms only of a 12-cup muffin pan (or line the cups with double cupcake papers – that’s what I do at The Cookie Jar.) Melt the butter. Mix in the sugar. Add the beaten eggs, baking powder, and salt. Mix it all up thoroughly.

Put one Tablespoon of flour in a baggie with your cup of fresh or frozen blueberries. Shake it gently to coat the blueberries and leave them in the bag for now.

Add half of the remaining two cups of flour to your bowl and mix it in with half of the milk. Then add the rest of the flour and the milk, and mix thoroughly.

Here comes the fun part: Add 1/2 cup of blueberry pie filling to your bowl and mix it in. (Your dough will turn a shade of blue, but don’t let that stop you – once the muffins are baked, they’ll look just fine.) When your dough is thoroughly mixed, fold in the flour-coated fresh or frozen blueberries.

Fill the muffin tins three-quarters full and set them aside. If you have dough left over, grease the bottom of a small tea-bread loaf pan and fill it with your remaining dough.

The crumb topping: Mix the sugar and the flour in a small bowl. Add the softened butter and cut it in until it’s crumbly. (You can also do this in a food processor with chilled butter and the steel blade.)

Fill the remaining space in the muffin cups with the crumb topping. Then bake the muffins in a 375 F. degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. (The tea-bread should bake about 10 minutes longer than the muffins.)

While your muffins are baking, divide the rest of your blueberry pie filling into half-cup portions and pop it in the freezer. I use paper cups to hold it and freeze them inside a freezer bag. All you have to do is thaw a cup the next time you want to make a batch of Blue Blueberry Muffins.

When your muffins are baked, set the muffin pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. (The muffins need to cool in the pan for easy removal.) Then just tip them out of the cups and enjoy.

These are wonderful when they’re slightly warm, but the blueberry flavor will intensify if you store them in a covered container overnight.

Hannah’s Note: Grandma Ingrid’s muffin pans were large enough to hold all the dough from this recipe. My muffin tins are smaller and I always make a loaf of Blue Blueberry tea-bread with the leftover dough. If I make it for Mother, I leave off the crumb topping. She loves to eat it sliced, toasted, and buttered for breakfast.