Blueberry-Banana Yogurt Muffins

August is the season of Blueberries.
Well, so is July, but it’s still early August and blueberry season kind of runs over into August around here. It’s glorious. I have six little blueberry bushes in my garden and this is the first year they’ve produced fruit. It feels like a real victory. I so look forward to what future summers hold in the blueberry department. Good things ahead, people.

This morning, it seemed like a wise idea to do more than just nom those fresh berries straight from the bushes, so I picked what I could and decided muffins would showcase their sweetness best. Throw in a couple of over-ripe bananas and yogurt for consistency, and presto—muffins.
Enjoy!

BLUEBERRY-BANANA YOGURT MUFFINS

1/2 cup butter (1 stick, softened)
2 eggs
1 soft banana
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup Greek Yogurt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 pint fresh blueberries

In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, blend butter (softened), sliced banana, sugar, yogurt, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until will combined. Feel free to really work the batter so no banana or butter lumps remain. Then mix in the flour, but don’t overdo it or the muffins will fall when they bake. A little visible flour in the batter is okay.
Fold in fresh berries with a soft spatula until they are well-dispersed.

Scoop batter into a greased muffin tin (about 2/3 full in each), and bake in a 350-degree preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden-brown across the top.

Sour Cream and Buttermilk Banana Muffins with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

You know when you set out to do something super healthy in the kitchen and then it goes completely sideways? My mission: Greek Yogurt Banana Bread. The final outcome: Sour Cream and Buttermilk Banana Muffins (with chocolate chips) and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

Oops.

Also, this brings up a very important question:
At what point does a muffin become a cupcake?
I would like an answer to this or I may not sleep tonight.

I can promise you though, every muffin/cupcake calorie accrued in these incredibly tasty healthy-turned-not-so-much treats earned me glowing smiles, shining eyes, and beaming praise from my people. So I’m going to say it was a successful mission. And hey, there are many different kinds of healthy. My heart was very healthy yesterday. Lots of hugs, sticky kisses, and frosting-bedecked cheeks to smooch. So it’s all good.

Enjoy!

SOUR CREAM AND BUTTERMILK BANANA MUFFINS WITH VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk (make your own!)
2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips (white chocolate chips would be amazing too!)

In a large mixing bowl or using a stand mixer combine butter, vanilla, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, sour cream, and buttermilk. Blend until smooth and all of the ingredients are incorporated. Add flour and chocolate chips and blend again. Scoop batter into greased (but un-lined) muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown around the edges and across the tops. Roughly 15 minutes, but adjust time accordingly as every oven is a little different.

Remove muffins from baking tin and allow to cool. While they are cooling, you can mix up the frosting.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

3/4 cup frosting
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups (or so) powdered/confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Soften butter and whip with vanilla. Add powered sugar using hand or stand mixer and adjust consistency of the frosting, alternating with cream and sugar, until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated and the frosting is to your liking.

Frost muffins/cupcakes generously and sprinkle with raw sugar crystals.

Whole Wheat Rhubarb Muffins

You guys. My rhubarb is taking over. Like for real. It is literally as tall as I am. As is evidenced by my patch, it’s not quite finished delivering summer bounty. Two plants have morphed into a rhubarb jungle that would sincerely shield me from a zombie apocalypse. All of this lush rhubarb seemed to mandate something edible this morning. Muffins, to be exact.

Zombie apocalypse to muffins. Yes. This is how my brain works.

These muffins are pretty great though. Rustic (whole wheat flour!) and weighty with fruit (4-5 cups!)—each bite has that tart sweetness that only late summer rhubarb can deliver. Enjoy!

WHOLE-WHEAT RHUBARB MUFFINS

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup yogurt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-5 cups rhubarb
2  1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Start by finely chopping your rhubarb. I use a food processor which cuts the time dramatically and slices the rhubarb nice and thin. If the rhubarb is chopped too thick, the muffins get quite heavy.
Once your rhubarb is sliced and diced, set it aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter (melty and soft), yogurt (I used a single-serve container of peach yogurt), eggs, vanilla, spices, and sugar. Mix until well combined and smooth. Then add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix again until smooth. Fold in the rhubarb with a soft spatula so the fruit isn’t smashed. And then one cup at a time, fold in the whole wheat flour. When you get to the last 1/2 cup, don’t over-mix. You should see bits and specks of flour in the batter. If the batter is over-mixed the muffins don’t set well and fall flat. This is true of any quick-bread.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.