Brunch Muffins

First, an apology for not blogging more about fabulous food and wine.  I have, with all of my heart, wanted to be experimenting with new recipes and sharing them with you.  I have, unfortunately, not had any desire to be in the kitchen (this is a real first for me!), due to this crazy fatigue I've been enduring all for the love of our little baby.  I've spent what energy I have been able to muster up in this first trimester wishing I had even the remotest appetite to throw something together.  My poor husband.  Alas, the second trimester is upon us and I do believe (read: hope) that I will find some inspiration that will pull me back to the stove.

And speaking of inspiration, I recently received a number of cookbooks in the mail, one in particular that I'm pretty sure I actually squealed with delight when I opened over my Sunday toast: Jamie At Home.  It is just what I've been trying to get my greasy little fingers on.  It is the perfect combination of recipes and advice (gardening to be precise) and will serve my newfound ambition to cultivate a more 'field-to-plate' habit in our household.  Of course, my tiny little garden plot out back has been sitting bare for a whopping 7 months as we have had quite the winter and I don't dare plant anything.  So I've been patiently waiting while our snowy April (yes, April) progresses, reading Jamie's recommendations of what to plant where, and how to pluck the veggie morsels from your toiled-with-love soil and whip them up into something delicious.

But before I get ahead of myself... this is supposed to be about brunch muffins.  And so it shall be.

I love brunch.  I love breakfast really anytime of the day.  In fact, I think breakfast for dinner has to be my favorite.  So, when is stumbled on the simple recipe for blueberry sour-cream muffins, I was a very happy woman!

They're dead simple to make, incredibly moist, and just what you need as you pad around in your bare feet, sipping a latte.

I suppose you could forego the crumbly crunchy sugary topping... but where's the fun in that?!

So go head, treat yourself to a yummy Sunday muffin :)

INGREDIENTS

TOPPING

1. 1/2 cup light brown sugar
2. 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4. 1 teaspoon cinnamon

MUFFINS

1. 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2. 2 teaspoons baking powder
3. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 1 large egg
6. 3/4 cup sugar
7. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
8. 1 rounded cup sour cream
9. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
10. 3/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
11. 1 rounded cup frozen blueberries

DIRECTIONS

1. MAKE THE TOPPING: Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon. Rub with your fingers to form coarse crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. MAKE THE MUFFINS: Butter a 12-cup muffin pan. In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the egg at medium speed until frothy. Add the sugar and melted butter and beat until pale yellow, 1 minute. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest until blended. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until almost blended. In a bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour. Using a rubber spatula, fold the blueberries into the batter.
3. Fill the muffin cups three-fourths full of batter and sprinkle with the topping. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a rack.

MAKE AHEAD

The muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.