AmsterZanne Flexi-muffins

Muffin image above snagged from flickr. Go here see more images from Chotda's photostream. Very talented food photographer.

Doncha just hate it when you want to cook something and you are missing one dang ingredient? That's why I love these flexible-ingredient muffins. I rarely have no possible way of making these. I went to the farmer's market at Lindengracht last Saturday, and picked up two little boxes of blueberries for three euros. Not super cheap, but since AH wants about 2.99 for one, I grabbed 'em. I decided to put some into muffins, and here's how I did it:

My Own AmsterZanne Flexi-muffins

Ingredients, dry
One cup all-purpose flour
One cup whole wheat flour...or ANY combination of these two ingredients that = two cups
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup ANY dry sugar (confectioner's not tried)
3 teaspoons baking powder..don't skimp
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Ingredients, wet
3/4 cup ANY milk, cream, buttermilk, quark or yogurt
1/3 cup ANY oil OR butter OR applesauce OR fruit puree
One any size egg

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400 degreees F/205 degrees C. Grease bottoms only of 12 muffin cups or line with muffin papers.
2. Sift together dry ingredients and combine well in a large bowl. (I make these premeasured batches of dry to keep on hand. This way I can quickly and easily whip up muffins when good ingredients come my way, and do so using just one bowl.)
3. In small bowl mix well the wet ingredients. When combined add to the dry mixture and stir together with as few strokes as possible, just enough to moisten the dry stuff. Fill muffin cups, more then 2/3 is ok, they do not rise terribly much. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not underbake. These are dense, very moist muffins and they will be doughy on the inside if they don't get enough baking time. Cool one minute before removng from pan. Serve warm.

I keep making this recipe, it's so much fun to vary and play with. Muffins are best fresh. These hold up for about two days. I always use the half and half flours, and like the combination of earthiness and lightness that gives. These aren't terribly sweet, and I've topped the muffins with a spoon of jam before popping them into the oven, to favorable result. Not so successful was trying to bury the jam in the center of each muffin by covering with dough. This makes the center overly moist, so add the jam to the top and just sort of mash it into the dough a tad just before baking.


AmsterZanne Flexi-muffins cranked up a notch:
Recipe exactly as above plus...
4. cut 1/3 cup of good very chilled butter into the flour mixture and work quickly with pastry cutter or two knives or ten claws until you get crumbly cornmeal texture. Don't work butter to warmth, it needs to be in cold little bits when those muffins go into the oven. Immediately add wet mixture.
5. freeze one cup of blueberries and add the frozen berries when you combine the final ingredients. Freezing them keeps them intact through the mixing process. Toss in a few tablespoons of nuts or oats or seeds at this stage, if you desire.