Singing (either in my head or out loud) lifts my spirits. And there are days (especially during the pandemic) when this helps! Well, maybe not to the people who are listening to my “out loud” singing, but that’s another story.
So this morning as we were picking the last of the blueberries from our bushes the song “On Blueberry Hill” popped into my head and as my brain works that into food, I decided it was time to make blueberry muffins. And it’s one of my hubbies favorites (the muffins, not my singing).
Checking the blog for past muffin recipes I realized that I have made blueberry muffins with applesauce and blueberry muffins with yogurt. Well then, it’s about time I try making them with ricotta cheese and frosting them with an orange glaze. (I make my own ricotta cheese, however, store-bought ricotta would produce the same results.)
Tips when adding berries vary from coating them with flour or sugar to just dropping them into the recipe fresh or frozen. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for these muffins. I used fresh berries today. If you have frozen berries, don’t defrost them, just add them straight from the freezer. I say that with this recipe because the temperature to bake these muffins is 375 degrees. In the blueberry muffins with applesauce recipe, I recommend letting the berries come to room temp before adding them into the mixture. That is because those muffins are baked at 400 degrees and frozen berries tend to burst when baked at higher heat.
The batter will be thick.
Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full.
The recipe makes about 16 average-size muffins. They freeze well for a grab-and-go in the future.
The orange glaze adds a touch of sweetness.
I just like looking at these muffins (besides eating them), they are so pretty!
These muffins are not a light fluffy version because I used whole wheat pastry flour along with all-purpose flour. That doesn’t take away from the rich flavor of the combined ingredients and berries (of course).
Yields 16 muffins
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)
- 1?½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (homemade or store brand)
- 1/2 cup milk
- ½ cup egg whites (or 2 eggs, lightly beaten)
- ? cup honey
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 teaspoons finely shredded orange peel
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- Orange Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 5 to 6 teaspoons orange juice
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray sixteen 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl stir together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside.
- In a small bowl stir together ricotta cheese, milk, eggs, honey, oil, and the 2 teaspoons orange peel.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.
- Bake for 16 to 18 minutes. Remove muffins from pans and cool on a wire rack.
- For glaze, in a small bowl combine powdered sugar and orange juice. Whisk until smooth. Dip tops of cooled muffins in the orange glaze. Let sit until glaze is set.