This recipe is from Joanne Fluke's
"Blueberry Muffin Murder." (It's on page 50 in my copy.)
Blue Blueberry Muffins
3/4 cup melted butter (1 1/2
sticks)
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 are frozen)
1/2
cup blueberry pie filling
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour (no need
to sift)
1/2 cup milk
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
cupcake papers). Melt the butter. Mix in the sugar. Then add the
beaten eggs, baking powder, and salt, and mix thoroughly.
Put
one tablespoon of the flour in a plastic bag 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 the remaining two
cups of flour to your bowl and mix it in with half the milk. Then add
the rest of the flour and 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 blueberries.
Fill the muffin tines 3/4 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 the remaining dough.
The crumb topping: Mix
the sugar and 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 hard butter using the steel blade.)
Sprinkle the crumb
topping over your muffins and bake them in a 375 degree oven for 25
to 30 minutes. (The tea bread should bake about 10 minutes longer
then the muffins.)
While your muffins are baking, divide the
rest of your blueberry filling into 1/2 cup portions and pop in the
freezer.
When your muffins are baked, set the muffin pan on a
wire rack to cool for t 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 are slightly warm, but
the blueberry flavor will intensify if your store them in a covered
container over night.
*We still can't get them out of the
pans.
Sandy's note: The crumb topping sort of melted into a
crust while they baked.