Small but Powerful: blueberries!!!

“I've tried it on, like, twenty Oompa-Loompas and each one ended up as a blueberry. It's just weird!” - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Violet turned into a blueberry! hahaha, I love the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory story! It is one of my favourite books! I loved Johnny Depp in the movie. Oompa-Loompas are kind of scary though! haha

Blueberries are one of my favourite fruits. I think it would be my #2 since banana is #1 ... YUM!! I always loved blueberries; they are so cute, nice in colour, and most of all they taste so good. I could eat handfuls of blueberries anyday. They are the best snack too! I remember saying before blueberries are liars... why? because they look purple to me, well I suppose it's outside is a dark blue-purple, but it definitely has purple juice colour that comes out.

You can say, the best things come in small packages, which is very true when you refer to blueberries... and short, little me too =P haha. Why are blueberries so awesome? Well they have many super health benefits. They are antioxidant rich, which I said before is good for your body because it fights off those bad free radicals, which in turn help with reducing the risk of diseases. Next, they are high in vitamin C, which is good for your immune system. For a tiny little berry it is full of nutrients ranging from folate, iron, and manganese. Blueberries also contains fibre, which is good for you, because we all need some more fibre in our diets! Some research has even shown that blueberries are good for the brain; in animals, blueberry extract has improved memory, coordination, and balance. (WOW... I should definitely eat more blueberries, since my memory is horrible!) I could go on and on about the health benefits of blueberries, but you would be reading for a while, so just
know that blueberries are really good for you! Go grab some fresh blueberries while they are in season!

In the last few months, I have made a few blueberry treats! Way back in the beginning of the year, I made blueberry cupcakes. Then blueberry tarts. Then blueberry muffins!

... Go on read more for recipes & blueberry results.

BLUEBERRY TREAT #1

o-m-g… are these not super cute or what? I loved the colours and how adorable they looked!

RESULTS: these super cute cupcakes were yummy & the frosting was really good too, everything just went together. There was a good blueberry flavour to it. It wasn’t too sweet, a perfect little cupcake. The only thing I did different from the recipe is that I added everything in at once, which I did wrong, because I was supposed to add the blueberry puree a bit at a time, so the icing became runny, but nonetheless, I think it gave it an extra blueberry punch with all the puree and it was delicious.  I would definitely make these again.

{Blueberry Cupcakes}

Adapted from Cate’s World Kitchen

Makes 6 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
3 tablespoons blueberry puree (just puree thawed frozen blueberries in a food processor then push through a mesh strainer)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2 tbsp whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Frosting:
1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup thawed frozen blueberries, pureed and strained
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla

To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Put paper liners in 6 cupcake tins.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt onto a piece of wax paper. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, and blueberry puree.
Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, and add the sugar. Beat for a few minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix on low until combined.
Add half the flour mixture and mix briefly on low. Scrape down the bowl and add the milk mixture, mixing just until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the remaining flour mixture. Mix on low, then divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting:
Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the blueberry puree a teaspoon or two at a time until the frosting is smooth and spreadable

 

BLUEBERRY TREAT #2

I made these blueberry tarts for a party, but my relatives were over and saw me packing them up and wanted some and I only made a bit, so I gave it to them instead (sorry T.B., haha). So the lesson here is always make extra, because there will always people who want a piece haha.

RESULTS: the tart part was a bit hard and wasn’t the most delicious tart shell I ever tasted, so I would find an alternative recipe for the tart shells next time. The filling was really delicious, you can even just eat the filling *mmmhh blueberry filling! Overall, the blueberry tarts were good, but not the best thing tarts ever. But a good, easy blueberry tart recipe to try out!

{Blueberry Mini Tarts}

From Martha Stewart Kids

Makes 2 Dozen Tarts

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• Salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 2 cups blueberries

1. Pulse flour, confectioners' sugar, and a pinch of salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With processor running, add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a dough forms (do not process more than 20 seconds).
2. Cut dough in half; shape each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 day. Cut 1 disk into 12 pieces; on a lightly floured work surface, flatten each piece into a 2-inch round. Press a round onto bottom and up sides of each cup of a 12-cup nonstick mini-muffin tin. Repeat with remaining disk of dough and second muffin tin. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest, and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Add berries; toss to coat. Fill shells with berry mixture. Bake until crusts are brown and filling is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly in tins. Run a knife around tarts; remove from tins. Let cool completely on rack.

 

BLUEBERRY TREAT #3

Blueberry muffin… my favourite breakfast treat. Every morning I have work, I usually go to Tim Horton’s and get a blueberry muffin to enjoy with my tea. I know, it’s bad, I shouldn’t eat those darn muffins, because they are high in fat and sugar, but it’s easy to grab in the morning… but no excuses! So I made these muffins for my family to enjoy and to eat for breakfast before work. I not only saved money, but I knew what were in these delicious muffins!

RESULTS: this is my go to blueberry muffin recipe. One of my favourite muffin recipes. These muffins turned out super moist and had great flavour to it; the cinnamon adds such a delicious scent and taste to these muffins. Not only that, but it was loaded with fresh blueberries! I love that this recipe does not use butter & sugar and uses healthier ingredients, such as yogurt and whole wheat flour, so I would definitely call this a healthy muffin hahaha. These kinds of recipes make me so happy! I just LOVE this recipe. Thank you Anna Olson! :) If you are to make only one of these blueberry treats, I definitely recommend this recipe, because it’s sooooo GOOD!!!! (The only the I changed about this recipe was I used a bit less honey & omitted the orange zest, because I don’t like orange. Also, I didn’t have plain yogurt so I used used my Silhouette blueberry yogurt, but I don’t think it makes a huge difference, if anything it adds more of that wonderful blueberry flavour!)

{Anna’s Blueberry Muffins}

Recipe from Anna Olson via Foodnetwork

Yield: 12

• 1/3 cup (75 mL) canola oil
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups (300 mL) 2% plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) finely grated orange zest
• 1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat flour
• 1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt
• 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 °F (190 °C) and line a 12-cup muffin tin (or 36 cup mini muffin tin) with paper liners (alternately, tins can be greased).
2. Whisk oil, honey, eggs, yogurt and orange zest to blend. In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. Add to yogurt mixture and stir just until blended. Add blueberries and spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until muffins spring back when touched. Muffin will keep 2 days in an airtight container, or can be frozen.