Blueberry cornbread muffins

With a bounty of summer berries at my fingertips, it was about time I baked with them (something besides my famous blueberry cobbler, that is). I turned again to Vegan with a Vengeance, and reduced the fat a little bit in the sunny blueberry-corn muffins. I took these to my friends’ 4th of July cookout, so I made them red-white-and-blue (er, more like pink-yellow-and-blue, but it’s the thought that counts) by crowning each one with a plump little raspberry.

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup soymilk
2T soy yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
Zest of one lemon
1 1/4 cups blueberries
12 raspberries, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flours, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, applesauce, soymilk, soy yogurt, vanilla, and lemon zest. I also tossed the berries in another bowl with a couple spoonfuls of the dry mixture.



Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring with a wooden spoon until just combined. Carefully fold in the berries. Sorry for the blurry photo here...



Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Gently press a raspberry in the center of each, and sprinkle with a little sugar if desired.



Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.



These muffins are not too sweet on their own, so they’re great with a little Earth Balance or butter for spreading, and/or jam or jelly for smearing, and/or agave nectar or honey for drizzling. They’ve got just the right amount of crumble, and I like how each burst of blueberry complements the coarse, almost crunchy nature of the cornmeal. They’re perfect as handheld snacks, a light dessert, or (my personal choice) breakfast. No matter when or how you eat them, they make a summery, guilt-free treat.



Yield: 12 muffins. Per muffin: 155 calories, 5.4g fat (trace sat), 24.4g carbs, 2g fiber, 2.8g protein.

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