Some things stay with you. They just get better.
I grew up watching old Westerns. I’m pretty sure I could still quote every line of McLintock! to this day.
So when I moved to Georgia for college, I guess I held onto that little piece of home. Once I got my first apartment, Saturday mornings became something of a ritual. Before my roommates got up, I’d head to the kitchen, make a batch of blueberry muffins from the White Lily mix at the grocery store, and settle into the living room with an old Western.
Maybe it was nostalgia. Maybe it reminded me of home. Maybe it was just part of who I was. Who knows.
Fast forward nearly twenty years and this morning, in my kitchen in Idaho, I made blueberry muffins again.
Only this time, I made them from scratch.
It made me think about that college apartment and those quiet Saturday mornings before anyone else was awake. About all the life that has happened between that kitchen and this one. And how funny it is that the smallest things can follow us through all of it.
Old Westerns. Blueberry muffins. Slow weekend mornings.
Some things stay with you.
They just get better.
And these blueberry muffins? They’re pretty damn good, too.
Recipe below.
Blueberry Muffins
INGREDIENTS:
For the muffins
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
About ⅓ cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
For the crumb topping
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 8 muffin cups with liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Add the oil to a 1-cup measuring cup, then add the egg. Pour in enough milk to bring everything to the 1-cup mark and whisk together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. Don't overmix.
To make the crumb topping, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter. Use a fork or your fingers to work the butter in until the mixture is crumbly.
Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling them all the way to the top. Sprinkle the crumb topping generously over each one.
Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let them cool for a few minutes, then eat one while it's still warm. That's the rule.
If this feels like your kind of cooking, you’ll probably like the cookbook too. Take a look here.
