Blackberry blue

I have a stack of cookbooks. I should use them more often.

So here is the first in my series of make and taste recipes.

And since cowgirls are akin to farmgirls, I began the endeavor with this collection of recipes. It details the story of Paula Disbrowe, chef and food writer. She traded her subway card for a pickup and stiletto heels for boots when she moved to Texas … from New York City.

“New York City?” (said with my best Pace Picante Sauce impersonation.)

Yep, New York City. Imagine the culture shock.

I decided to delve into Paula’s cookbook. The first recipe to catch my wandering eye?

Blackberry Blue Corn Muffins
These muffins have a rustic texture and they’re not too sweet.
They’re also heavy on the fruit, which means big bites of warm,
juicy blackberries. The blue corn, which has a sweet, nutty flavor,
gives them a pretty lavender color.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find blue corn meal … Ohio is too far from Texas, apparently.

Blackberry Blue Corn Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup blue corn meal (Yankees may use yellow)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1/3 cup corn oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 pound fresh or frozen blackberries (2 generous cups)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease two standard 12-cup muffin tins.

Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, oil, syrup, vanilla and eggs. Using a rubber spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just mixed. Fold in the blackberries. (If you are going to chill the batter overnight, wait and add the blackberries just before baking).

Fill 16 muffin cups just to the top and bake for 10-15 minutes. Rotate the tins and bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, until puffed and slightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out dry.

Allow muffins to cool in their tins for 5 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.

Mmm. They’re yummy. There’s a note in the cookbook I thought I should mention:

For best results, make this batter the night before. If the batter chills overnight, the leaveners get a chance to do their thing and the muffins really pop up in the hot oven.

I used my batter right away. My muffins aren’t as puffy as they can be … they are, however, as tasty as can be.

Enjoy!