Blackberry muffins

Along with trying to cook more dinners, I'm also trying to bake things that the kids can eat as snacks so we aren't grabbing a box out of the pantry all the time.

When I saw this recipe for blackberry muffins I knew I had to try them, because I grew up eating fresh Oregon blackberries. Unfortunately I didn't even have any fresh Oklahoma blackberries to put in them, but I really wanted to make them so I settled for a can of blackberries from our food storage...Definitely not the same, but they were still pretty good. I'll have to try it again the next time blackberries are on sale.

Blackberry muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon milk

2/3 cup sugar

8 Tbsp warm melted butter (1 stick)

1 teaspoon vanilla

11 oz of fresh blackberries, cut in half (You can use frozen blackberries if fresh are not available, defrost and drain them first.)

1 Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a standard 12 muffin pan or line with paper muffin cups. (Actually, with the berries you'll have more batter than just for 12 muffins. This batch made 18 muffins.)

2 Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

3 In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla.

4 Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix together with a few light strokes, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the berries. (If you are using frozen berries, defrost them first, then drain the excess liquid, then coat them lightly in flour.) Do not over mix! Over mixing will cause the muffins to be dense, not fluffy. The batter should not be smooth.

5 Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean, 17-20 minutes (or longer). Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from the pan. If not serving hot, let cool on a rack.Serve as soon as possible, preferably within a few hours of baking.