It's Blueberry Time!

Today, Regan, my Mom and I went to the Beech Road Blueberry Farm (in Wakarusa) to pick blueberries. Because of the drought and horrid heat we've had the past month, the berries were not as large as last year, but still pretty plentiful! What to do with pounds and pounds of blueberries, you say?

First, you wash them and spread them out on baking sheets to dry,

freeze said berries for 1-2 hours,

then bag them up in freezer bags for future use!

 I set aside quite a few fresh berries for making blueberry muffins (and eating) - yum!  I know I've posted at least two blueberry muffin recipes in the past, but not this one:

It's a combination of several recipes I've tried over the years. I think I made the recipe card (with cutesy lettering) about 20 years ago. Don't you just love the name of the recipe?

Christie's Excellent Blueberry Muffins (makes 24)

3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 beaten eggs
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use safflower)
1 1/2 cups blueberries

Topping:

3 Tbl. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all ingredients 28 strokes by hand, until blended (I added the blueberries last, just folding in briefly). Line muffin tin with cupcake papers and fill 3/4 full.  Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar topping on each muffin.  Bake for 20-25 minutes. (I use dark, non-stick muffin tins and have found that turning down the heat a little prevents browning on the bottoms).

These muffins are really moist and have a hint of orange flavor. My favorite part, besides the fresh blueberries, is the crunchy topping!