In the Kitchen: Blackberry Corn Muffins

There are so many good things about these muffins, I'm not sure where to start. I guess I'll start by telling you how delicious they are, because that is most important when baking, right? So aside from that (and being really easy to make) you can also substitute any berry you like in place of the blackberries — blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cranberries, even cherries or yummy tart currants. These muffins are sweet enough for a light dessert but not too indulgent to accompany a fresh salad, a bowl of chili or a hotdog cook-out for lunch or dinner. You'll find a printable recipe card at the end of the post.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups unbleached flour

1/2 cup fine-ground cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup buttermilk, room temp

2 large eggs, room temp

7 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted & cooled

8 ounces fresh blackberries (or other berry)

2 Tbsp raw sugar

Preheat oven to 375° and line 14 standard size muffin tins with paper liners.

If your blackberries are monster sized like mine usually are, cut them in smaller pieces.

In a medium large bowl, whisk together the first five ingredients, set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and melted butter. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Batter will be thick.

Fill each cup with two slight mounded tablespoons of batter. I use a tablespoon sized cookie scooper (like a mini ice cream scooper), two scoops, it works great. The cups will only be about half full, but you need room to add the berries and they will rise when baking, too.

Next add the berries on top of the batter, pushing in slightly, but not too much. Sprinkle the tops with the raw sugar, you can also use regular granulated sugar if you like but I love the rich flavor of the natural raw sugar (I also use it in the batter).

Bake for 10 minutes, rotate tins and bake another 10 - 12 minutes until light golden brown. Cool completely in tins on a wire rack before removing.

The tops will brown lightly giving them a sweet crunch with the slightly carmelized raw sugar, while the insides stay super moist and delicious. They are best enjoyed soon after baking but will store in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple days, though chances are they won't last that long.

I recently made a batch with some fresh picked sour cherries and they were amazing! So get creative, this batter is the perfect base for almost anything and you can also adjust the amount of sugar you add to it to suit your taste or health requirements. Enjoy!

> Click here for a printable recipe card

And find more easy and delicious recipes here.