Summer at its Finest: Fresh Blackberry Muffins

When I was a kid, one of the things I always looked forward to in the summertime was when the berry bushes were ripe. My parents' place had all kinds -- raspberries, black raspberries, and blackberries. I would check the bushes nearly every day, watching the berries start from little tiny green buds and finally grow into big, juicy ones. My mom makes a DELICIOUS blackberry syrup that when paired with vanilla ice cream tastes exactly like summer. It conjures up memories of each lazy, hot summer spent at home, and just makes me feel all happy inside. Anyway, I digress. This isn't a post about blackberry syrup, it's about muffins!

Last Wednesday I saw that there were some blackberry bushes just laden with berries next to the church building, and I just had to pick some! Since the Hubby and the Munchkin don't eat a lot of raw fruit, my usual spin is to put it in a muffin for them. I used a recipe that I've followed several times for strawberry muffins, and substituted in the blackberries. As the eloquent Andy Griffith says, "Eating speaks louder than words" -- we ate 6 already.

Here's the recipe -- I'm sure you can play around with some of the ingredients and substitute in healthier things like greek yogurt or alternate sweeteners, but I didn't feel like messing with a good thing. ;)

Fresh Blackberry Muffin Recipe

Makes One Dozen

2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or use paper lined muffin tin; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine eggs, milk, and oil. Stir into the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated (there will be lumps). Fold in blackberries.

Spoon into muffin tins and sprinkle tops lightly with white sugar. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.