Long before we had kids and long before I could really bake anything other than a frozen pizza, I would wake up on Saturday mornings and wander into the foreign land of the kitchen to bake blueberry muffins. Yep, long before I was “Cookie Dave,” I was the “Muffin Man.”  Every now and then, I return to my muffin roots and bake a batch of “Dave’s Saturday Morning Blueberry Muffins.”  Oddly enough, my cookies have never been published, but my blueberry muffin recipe appeared in a family cookbook.  So this morning, whip up some blueberry muffins and join the Muffin Man in pure blueberry delight.

My early morning baking companion, 7-year-old Sam. Note the pizza box in the background from Friday night’s dinner.  We feasted on Little Caesar’s Pretzel Crust Pizza, which by the way is delicious with the perfect balance of pretzel texture, salt, and cheese dipping sauce, which is used in lieu of regular pizza sauce.  As I stood in line for the “Hot-N-Ready” pizza, I soon realized what a popular place Little Caesar’s lobby is on a Friday night and that this would not be a speedy trip.  Sensing that I would need to buy time, prior to a potential child whine fest, I gave the boys each a quarter to get a bouncy ball out of the lobby vending machine.  My strategy worked really well and purchased some time, but unfortunately I am now punished at the breakfast table, as my 10-year-old mindlessly bounces the ball on the table, while we eat our muffins.  Sort of a Chinese water (bouncy ball?) torture for a parent, who once had good intentions.  Dear God, please make the bouncing stop.

DAVE’S SATURDAY MORNING BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

1¾ cups Flour

½ cup Sugar

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

¼ teaspoon Salt

1 Egg

¾ cup Milk

¼ cup Vegetable Oil

1 teaspoon Lemon Juice

1 cup Blueberries

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Make a well in the center for the wet ingredients and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, milk, vegetable oil, and lemon juice.

Pour “wet ingredients” into well in the “dry ingredients” bowl.

Stir until just combined.

Fold in blueberries.

Grease a 12 cup muffin pan. Evenly distribute batter between the 12 muffin cups.  They will end up about 2/3 full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Upon removing the muffins from the oven, top each muffin with a small dap of butter.

 

Makes 12 muffins.

Revised Source: Better Homes and Garden’s “New Cook Book,” as well as the Zaugg Family 2000 Cookbook, “Potatoes, Bread, and Milk…  Good Food.”