These muffins are amazing. Not too sweet, yet just the right  of sweetness to fully enjoy as a dessert. This is why it is acceptable to have them with dinner.

This is the recipe my family uses whenever we make macaroni and cheese. There is a slight lemon hint from the lemon zest, but not quite enough to put lemon in the title. It adds a great deal of freshness to the muffins. I’ve made the muffins before without lemon zest and you really can tell that it is missing.

Michigan Ingredient: Sugar

Unfortunately, blueberries are not quite in season yet in Michigan; but I had to include this recipe with the mac and cheese because it would almost be sacrilege if I didn’t.  Blueberries are usually in season in July and August.

First things first, combine the blueberries, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Doesn’t that look good? I could  just eat that by itself.

 

Combine the remaining dry ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine. I usually use a fork because I would rather clean a fork than a whisk. I know horrible right? BUUUUUUTTTTTTTT….. normally I am prepping these and the whisk is already dirty from making the cheese sauce for the macaroni and cheese. SOOOOOOOO… priorities? Yes, let’s go with that.  Please note that a well is created for the liquid ingredients.

 

Combine the liquid ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour into the well. If it runs over, that is fine. It does not mean that the recipe fails. I promise. Stir until the ingredients are barely combined. When it comes to making muffins, you do not want to over-stir them. I want to say that I overheard a grandparent say this, so it must be true. If there appears to be a couple of “dry” lumps, that’s no big deal.

At this time, I would preheat the oven at this point (to 425) and then pour (or spoon) your muffin batter into the muffin tin. I like to make “bigger” muffins, so usually this recipe yields 10 muffins for me that are “bigger”. The recipe can stretch to 12 muffins, your muffins will just be slightly smaller.

If you have empty cavities, please pour water in them to promote even baking. My mom has always done this for as long as I can remember and whatever she was baking would always turn out great.  Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes until the muffins pass the toothpick test.