Blueberry Coffe Cake Muffins

I didn’t get very much sleep Friday night. I could hear my dog Muppet’s collar jingling all night long as he scratched himself desperately. It was like he had an itch that was driving him crazy. On Saturday morning, Muppet woke up with a bald spot around his eye. It was pink and raw. He had been scratching at it incessantly as well as his ears. I thought for sure he must have an ear infection, so I made an appointment with the vet. As I prepared breakfast, I decided I wanted to make blueberry muffins before I took Muppet to the vet. I had 7 pints of blueberries in the fridge that I had bought for .99 cents each using the price match deal.



As I opened each pint, I kept thinking of all the recipes I could make with the remaining blueberries after I baked muffins. I thought of blueberry pops, blueberry tarts, blueberry pies, blueberry sorbet, and blueberry jam…so many choices… I loved blueberries. They are so delicious and full of those healthy antioxidants. While I rinsed each pint, I caught the faint aroma of the fresh berry.



After rinsing most of the berries with a paper towel, I somehow managed to lose a few. Muppet is always looking to see what will fall and he immediately saw the couple of berries I lost. I didn’t think much of it since berries are not harmful to dogs. He sensed this and happily helped himself to the fallen berries. Muppet isn’t terribly picky—-he is an opportunistic eater.



So I prepared the muffin batter and put in the fridge. I left in a rush and took Muppet to the vet. Although I knew he didn't have a bad odor coming from his ear or any gooey stuff, I figured the ear infection would be the only plausible explanation for the scratching. But as it turns out, he was fine. He just had really bad allergies, explained the vet. So she prescribed some pills/ointment, sent me back home, and I went about the rest of my day.



Later that night, hubby came home from work and found the blueberry muffins. He enjoyed them very much and after a full stomach, he sat on the couch to watch TV. He strectched his arm under the pillow of the couch and upon doing so felt an odd sticky wetness. When he sat up to look at it, his gaze turned to the mashed up goo of blueberries that were plastered on the armrest. Guess I should have paid more attention to where Muppet went to eat the blueberries (wha wha wha!).



Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pint (11 ounces) fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium size bowl, sift flour baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add the eggs one at a time, vanilla, sour cream and milk.

3. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in berries and mix.

4. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans (my pan only held 12). Scoop batter into muffin pans using 1/4 cup. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Source: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook