Blueberry Yogurt Muffin

Dear son loves yogurt, specifically the Farmers Union Greek-Style yogurt so I usually have a tub in the fridge. Recently I had half a tub of yogurt which was about to expire and recalled reading from a blog on a cake recipe that uses yogurt as an ingredient. But I forgot to bookmark the webpage and couldn't find it again. So I did a search and found this Blueberry Yogurt Muffin by Joy of Baking.

Tweaked the recipe a little by reducing amount of sugar, increasing amount of blueberries and use grapeseed oil instead of canola oil. In the end, I like the muffins so much that I baked them 3 times within a week! The muffins also received rave responses from those who tried it =D

The first time I tried the recipe, I was quite sceptical about how the muffins would turn out as the batter was really dry and sticky, somewhat like a cookie dough but much stickier. Usually muffin batter has a flowy kind of texture, so I was pretty worried that the muffin might turn out hard as rocks. Much to my surprise, they turned out moist and tender with a slightly crispy crust! By reducing the amount of sugar, the muffins weren't too sweet and the addition of more blueberries made the muffins even more tender and I could taste the juiciness of the blueberries with each bite. Best eaten warm but they taste just as nice when cold. Best of all, the recipe is easy peasy and can be completed within 30 mins.

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins
(makes 12 regular size muffins, preparation time 15 mins, baking time 15 mins)

Ingredients

• 240g plain yogurt (I use Farmers Union Greek-style yogurt)
• 1 large egg
• 60g Grapeseed oil (original canola or corn oil)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 260g plain flour
• 75g caster sugar (original 100g)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 125g blueberries (original 100g, I used up all the blueberries in a punnet)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 190 degree celsius. Position rack in the centre of the oven. Line the muffin pan with paper cases.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Set aside.
3. Remove 1 tbsp of the dry ingredients and toss well with the blueberries. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, egg, oil and vanilla extract until blended.
5. With a silicone spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and only till the ingredients are combined. Then gently stir in the blueberries. Do not over mix or the muffins will turn out tough. The texture of the dough is dry and resembles very sticky cookie dough. Don't worry, it is normal.
6. Evenly fill the muffin cases with the batter to almost full as the batter rises only slightly and retains the shape more or less. Using ice-cream scoop will be easier as the batter is very sticky.
7. Place muffin pan into the oven and bake for 15 mins. Transfer to wire rack and let cool for about 5 mins before removing from pan. Taste best when warm.