study break Blueberry-Cornmeal Muffins

Needing a small distraction and study break yesterday afternoon I decided to try and recreate the delicious Blueberry-cornmeal muffins from our coffee shop down the road. After searching the web a bit I decided on Martha Stewart's recipe. It turned out delicious and better than the coffee shop's according to my man. Try it after the jump...

Ingredients

·      Makes 12

·      1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·      3/4 cup cornmeal

 ·      1/2 cup granulated sugar

·      1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

·      1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·      1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·      1/4 teaspoon salt

·      2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

·      1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk, plus about 2 tablespoons for tops

·      2 large eggs, separated

·      2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melte

·      1 1/2 cups blueberries (about 1/2 pound), picked over and rinsed

·      2 1/2 teaspoons coarse sanding sugar (optional)

·      Nonstick cooking spray

·      Directions

·      Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in center. Lightly coat a standard muffin tin with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and orange zest, if using.

·      In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg yolks, and butter. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until just blended. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until just stiff. Gently fold whites and blueberries into the batter until just combined.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup three-quarters full. Bake 12 minutes. Remove from oven; gently brush tops with buttermilk, and sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Continue baking until tops are golden and a cake tester inserted in a muffin center comes out clean, 6 to 8 minutes more. Let muffins cool slightly, about 10 minutes, before turning out of tin.