Recipes From the Porch: Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Muffins

It's been a hot minute since I posted a recipe, and today I have a really good one. It comes to us courtesy of the bountiful supply of sourdough discard I have at the moment and is a fine example of my willingness to bake almost anything with my sourdough starter, except for an actual loaf of bread.

Bread takes time, and I am more of an instant gratification type girlie. And these muffins? Instantly gratifying, you have my word on it.

Besides, who doesn't love a good muffin?

The ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp corn starch

1 cup fresh blueberries*

Wet ingredients:

8 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sourdough starter, unfed

3 tbsp sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp lemon emulsion*

1-2 tbsp water

Crumb topping:

3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease a muffin tin (I use an extra-large muffin tin, but you can use a standard-sized pan).

Crumb topping:

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl, using a fork. Break up large crumbs, but don't make the crumbs too small. Crumble with your heart, if you will. Set aside.

Dry ingredients:

In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients, adding blueberries last. Toss blueberries in dry mixture to coat. Set aside.

Wet ingredients:

In a medium bowl, mix all wet ingredients except the water.

Batter:

Slowly combine wet ingredients into a large bowl of dry ingredients, mixing gently but thoroughly. Now add water, several teaspoons at a time, until the batter reaches your desired consistency.

Spoon batter into the muffin tin and gently press the crumb topping onto each muffin.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly when inserted into the center of the muffin.

Allow to cool. Store muffins at room temperature or eat those babies right away, like Hugh does.

*Lemon emulsion is thicker and more flavorful than lemon extract, and less sour than lemon juice, making it the perfect muffin flavoring. I buy my emulsions on Amazon, but you may sub in lemon extract or lemon zest, if you prefer.

*Frozen blueberries can beused in place of fresh, but I would make sure they were completely thawed before adding them to the dry ingredients.