Maine Cookbook: Blueberry Muffins

Every other year, my entire extended family descends on The Lakeside Cedar Cabins in Ellsworth, ME for a week of relaxation, family bonding, and lots and lots of food. We've been going there since I was 9; some years it was just my family, some years we skipped it completely, some years it was just this aunt or that family friend, but now, it's tradition. We go every other year. Now that "the kids" (i.e., me and my cousin) are grown, we bring our own friends as well. We rent all the cabins for the entire week, because, well.

Let's put this delicately: We're not...shy and retiring people. We're not quiet people. We're Irish. We like to party. And we are a bunch of foodies.

Every cabin is responsible for a meal or a part of a meal, and we all (all 20+ of us) eat together. Menus are discussed months ahead of time; recipes are carefully researched and developed, and everyone always, always goes overboard. You would not believe the incredible meals that come out of those tiny kitchens, cooked in full-day shifts.

Last year, for my mom's 60th birthday, I put together a cookbook of all the Maine recipes from that year. I'm going to be reposting them here, then hopefully expanding with more family recipes.

As the only one with small kids, I generally don't contribute full meals. Last year, the baby was only just a year old -- not really an age that's conducive to full-day cooking. But I did make my famous blueberry muffins for the crowd. I make these muffins nearly every weekend. Sometimes I make them with chocolate chips or dried cranberries or swirls of cinnamon instead of the blueberries. But the base is the easiest I've ever used and always results in a light, fluffy, delicious muffin, even if you sub in half the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour.

Erin's Blueberry Muffins adapted from AllRecipes

1 1/2C all-purpose flour (you can sub up to half this amount with whole wheat)
3/4C white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3C vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3C milk (or more, see directions)
1 tsp vanilla
1C blueberries

Preheat the over to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin or prepare with paper liners.

Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a large bowl. In a 1-cup measuring cup, add the oil, egg, and enough milk to make 1 cup of liquid. Whisk liquid ingredients together in a small bowl. **I like to do this step in a 2-cup measuring cup and whisk the mixture right in the cup with a fork. This way, you only dirty one bowl!**

Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and blend gently, just stirring enough to moisten the dry ingredients. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon batter into muffin tin. Sprinkle with some extra sugar on top if you're feeing fancy. Bake for 18 minutes at 400 degrees.

Photo credit: Iain M.