Basil Blueberry Muffins
Sweet and fragrant muffins made with lemon and cinnamon basil, blueberries, and a hint of blue cornmeal for extra flavor and texture.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 ⅔ cups unbleached flour
- ⅓ cup blue cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar (packed)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 cup blueberries (generous cup)
- 1 cup milk
- 2 extra-large eggs
- ¼ cup lemon and cinnamon basil leaves (minced, generous amount)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush muffin tin lightly with some of the melted butter and set aside remaining butter to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugars, and nutmeg; toss well to blend.
- Rinse blueberries, pick over them, and drain well. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture to coat and set aside.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs with a fork or whisk. Add milk and blend well. Stir in melted butter and minced basil.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until barely combined. Fold in blueberries gently until just incorporated; do not overmix.
- Spoon the batter evenly into muffin tins, filling each about two-thirds full.
- Bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes, until just golden brown or a tester inserted comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, loosen with a metal spatula, and transfer to racks to cool or serve warm.
Notes
his is a wonderfully delicious and fragrant muffin; it is sweet like cake. The addition of
blue corn is fun and tasty—gives a bit of added texture and the corn is sweet. If you
aren’t familiar with blue cornmeal, try it and you will find its earthy taste is good in
cornbread, muffins, and blue corn pancakes. You can use yellow or white cornmeal if
you don’t have the blue. Use a combination of lemon and cinnamon basil for the
fragrance and flavor; the citrus and the spice go well with the blueberries. However, if
you don’t have both basils, either one can be used on its own and still make a tasty
muffin. Recipe © Susan Belsinger. From Basil: An Herb Society of America Guide.
blue corn is fun and tasty—gives a bit of added texture and the corn is sweet. If you
aren’t familiar with blue cornmeal, try it and you will find its earthy taste is good in
cornbread, muffins, and blue corn pancakes. You can use yellow or white cornmeal if
you don’t have the blue. Use a combination of lemon and cinnamon basil for the
fragrance and flavor; the citrus and the spice go well with the blueberries. However, if
you don’t have both basils, either one can be used on its own and still make a tasty
muffin. Recipe © Susan Belsinger. From Basil: An Herb Society of America Guide.
