A Beautiful Bite

This past week has been quiet here on A Beautiful Bite. This is because I was down in Orlando attending a food blogging conference. There are two problems with food blogging conferences…

First of all, nothing gets done on ye ole blog. Dust collects, crickets chirp and tumble weeds go rolling by. A quiet blog is not a happy blog.

The other thing is that I gain weight from eating food I normally wouldn’t when I attend food blogging conferences. A double chocolate cupcake stuffed with buttercream filling, dunked in ganache and topped off with Oreos? Sure, why not? A frozen margarita with a Grand Marnier floater? Don’t mind if I do! And a New York strip steak with truffle fries? You betcha.

Yes, food blogging conferences are hazardous to both your blog health and your physical health as well.

But there are some perks. One of them is the swag they send us home with. Spices and rubs, gourmet brownies, sauces, kitchen tools and even a sack of key limes. Majorly fun foodie stuff!

One of my favorite swag items was the sack of key limes. I don’t often see key limes up here in New England. So, when I found myself with a bag of the little green gems, I was giddy with excitement. And I knew just what I wanted to do with them.

I’ve been looking for ways to use up a rather large sack of cornmeal that I had picked up for the Avocado Fritters I made a few weeks ago. So, I came up with the idea of a slightly sweet citrus corn muffin with blueberries mixed in. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go with lemons or limes for my citrus. After I got the free bag of key limes while down in Orlando, that solved the citrus debate. Limes it is.

Key limes are a bit zippier than the typical limes that can be found at the grocery stores. They are stronger and the zest is much more flavorful. But juicing them can be a bit of a pain because they are so small and most juicers are sized for larger fruit.

To solve this problem, I just shoved in several halved limes into the hopper of the juicer which made them much more juicable. Yes, I just made up a word. Juicable. I rather like that.

After juicing the limes, I reconstituted a cup of dried blueberries in the freshly squeezed key lime juice. Over the winter I switched to using dried blueberries because they are more affordable than fresh. But now that blueberries are coming back into season, you can use fresh if you like.

This recipe couldn’t be simpler. All of the muffin ingredients are tossed into a bowl and folded together. I just love the ease of a muffin. Don’t you?

Besides soaking my dried blueberries in the lime juice, I added a heaping half cup of grated key lime zest to the batter. I really wanted the citrus flavor to shine through in every bite of this muffin. And can I tell you how fragrant this was? It smelled like Florida in my kitchen.

Corn muffins are one of my favorite types of muffins. They have a wonderful texture and a bit of crunch to them thanks to the coarse nature of the cornmeal. And to make them all the more crunchy, I crowned these muffins with a smattering of coarse sanding sugar.

But the best thing about these muffins is the addition of the key limes and blueberries. An unexpected pairing of flavors that works in a crazy delicious way.

As wonderful as these muffins are on their own, they would be lovely served with a fruit salad or maybe even next to a cup of yogurt. A refreshingly zippy way to start your day!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Key Lime and Blueberry Corn Muffins

 

Author:

Melanie

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Serves: 12

Prep time: 3 hours

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 3 hours 30 mins

Print

 

Key Lime and Blueberry Corn Muffins. A slightly sweet, citrusy muffin with a crowning touch of crunchy coarse sugar. A sweet way to start your day.

Ingredients

• 1 cup blueberries (I used dried)
• ⅓ cup key lime juice (use regular limes if you can’t find key limes)
• 1½ cup flour
• 1½ cup cornmeal
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• ⅓ cup fresh key lime zest
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened

Instructions

1. If using dried blueberries, place berries into a bowl and mix together with lime juice. Allow to sit for several hours. If using fresh, just mix together and proceed with recipe.
2. Preheat oven to 350º. Line cupcake pan with liners.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Fold together ingredients just until combined. Scoop batter into muffin cups. I filled mine just about to the rim of the muffin wells.
4. Bake in a 350º oven until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. About 25-30 minutes.
5. Makes about a dozen muffins.

3.2.1753