Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

It's Blueberry Season!!! I love blueberries, but I prefer to have them baked into something. I made a blueberry pie with my first batch and a few dozen regular old run of the mill blueberry muffins. A few weeks ago when I need to restock the flour, I ended up getting whole wheat flour in place of my stand unbleached all-purpose in the hopes of being a little healthier. Little did I know that whole wheat flour just doesn't sound that great when you are itching for a sweet treat. So it was time to make the best of it and just dive in. I pulled out the red Betty Crocker cookbook that every person should own in at least one edition if not more. I have made the blueberry muffins according to the recipe countless times and they always disappear quickly, but this was my first time to go rogue with this recipe and try something new. Not only did I substitute whole wheat flour, I also substituted coconut oil and a splash of applesauce. The dough/batter was much thicker than I expected due to the coconut oil solidifying and I opted to place the blueberries on top of the muffins once the batter was in the tin rather than try to fold them in.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
 inspired by Betty Crocker

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 coconut oil
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp applesauce
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

1. Heat oven to 365 °F. Grease 12 medium muffin cups or line with paper baking cups.
2. In large bowl, beat milk, oil, egg, and applesauce with whisk until well mixed.
3. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be very thick).
4. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Top each cup with about 6-7 blueberries. Push blueberries into batter at varying depths.
5. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. 
6. Serve warm if desired.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Dark Chocolate Cookies

I have been itching to make oatmeal cookies since my mom left a bag of Snoqualmie Falls Lodge Oatmeal in our pantry after her last visit. I tend to follow recipes that are on the bag of whatever I have, but the Oatmeal Dream Cookies and Peanut Butter & Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies listed on the bag just didn't seem quite right. So back into the pantry I go to find a half bag each of Hersey's Butterscotch Chips and Hersey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips. Of course, I check the recipes on the back of each bag and I find the recipe for Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies. Fortunately, I have most of the ingredients except for the full bag of butterscotch chips required. Since I have half a bag of dark chocolate chips, this recipe is born.


Oatmeal Butterscotch Dark Chocolate Cookies
inspired by Hersey's Kitchen recipe


Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups oats
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. 
3. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in oats, butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips; mix well. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. 
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. 

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.