Blueberry-Cheese Muffins

By Hklbrries

"The blueberry muffin is a rich, indigo-spotted symbol of summer.

The Northwest's blueberry and huckleberry seasons provide many glories - the blueberry pancake, the huckleberry milkshake - yet nothing quite surpasses the blueberry muffin and its interchangeable cousin, the huckleberry muffin. It may be the finest use to which a blueberry or huckleberry can be put, with the exception of popped in the mouth straight off the bush.

You're in luck today because I'm going to share what I am convinced is the ultimate blueberry muffin recipe (see: The Ultimate Mazama Blueberry Muffins). I am perfectly aware that I'll get a few arguments about this. Lots of people claim to have the ultimate blueberry muffin recipe.

All I can say is, I've never tasted it's superior. This muffin has two secret ingredients: orange juice and rolled oats.

For another, it has stood a crucial test of time. The recipe has survived and even thrived outside its original natural habitat, the bed and breakfast.

That's where we first tasted it, about 20 years ago at a bed and breakfast in the tiny village of Mazama in the Methow Valley. It was a working ranch, which took in guests. We slept in the bunkhouse. At breakfast in the kitchen one summer morning, a basketful of these hot, steaming beauties arrived on the table. We took one bite and immediately begged, shamelessly, for the recipe.

Two decaded later, we are still using that old handwritten recipe, written on a sticky note.

In our experience these kinds of B&B recipes rarely taste quite as transcendent when we get them home. This one was the exception. It tasted great in a ranch house; it also tasted great in a suburban rancher. We immediately adopted it as our standard blueberry muffin recipe and have made it easily 100 times.

Sure, we've tried other blueberry muffin recipes. In fact, I am including several very good blueberry muffin recipes below, which include some change-of-pace ingredients such as cheese and cornmeal.

Yet we always come back to that old recipe on that sticky notes. The orange juice gives it tang; the rolled oats (right out of the Quaker cylinder) give it body; and the cinnamon-sugar sprinkle gives it a warm brown color and sweet, aromatic accent.

It works just as well with frozen blueberries. But right now,when huckleberries are plump and in season, it would be a crime to use anything but fresh."

Jim Kershner, Spokesman-Review Staff Writer

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup shredded Lorraine cheese (a mild, lacey deli cheese available in many grocery deli cases)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 stick butter or margarine, softened (1/2 cup)
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the oven to 400 F. Line muffin tin with 18 muffin cups. On a sheet of waxed paper, sift together 2 3/4 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, blend the milk, sour cream, cheese and vanilla.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high, beat the butter, brown sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until well-blended.

In a small bowl, combine the blueberries with the remaining 1/4 cup flour. Carefully fold the blueberries into the batter. In a cup, mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with some cinnamon-sugar.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the cups and serve warm.