Back To School After the Holidays

Today was a literal whirlwind!!!  We did 5!!!! Yep.... that's FIVE recipes in class today!!!  That is A LOT of baking!  And the thing is.... I can't believe how wonderful every single recipe we bake in class is!  Just when I think nothing could get tastier than whatever we just baked.... the next week we bake all new recipes and I'm again amazed!  Today was Blueberry Muffins (recipe will be in this blog)..... AMAZING!!!!!!!.........Scones, Almond Slice Cookies, Almond Macaroons, and Double Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut Cookies....... it was impossible to be in that baking kitchen today and ignore all of the seriously amazing aroma's wafting from those ovens..... good thing I still have my chef coat unwashed for a scratch and sniff baking aroma fix should I need it!  LOL LOL

I tried really hard to find another word than 'amazing' to use to describe the experience of today in the class kitchen.... but..... it simply twas..... amazing!  LOL  It's truly the only word that fits!  But you be the judge.... you bake these blueberry muffins and see if you too don't think they are.... amazing!

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
5 oz butter
6 1/2 oz sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 heaping Tbsp powdered milk
2 eggs
10 oz cake flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
7 /12 oz water
5 oz frozen blueberries

STREUSEL TOPPING
1 oz butter
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 oz pastry flour


1.  Combine butter, sugar, salt and powdered milk in mixer with paddle attachment (hand mixer will do just fine).
2.  Cream ingredients together until light.
3.  Slightly beat eggs and add 1/3rd of eggs to creamed ingredients.  After eggs have mixed in, add another 3rd, continue until all eggs have been mixed in.
4.  Sift together the flour and baking powder.
5.  Stir together the liquid ingredients until well combined.
6.  Place blueberries in a bowl and add a Tbsp or so of flour mixture to blueberries and shake blueberries to coat (this keeps the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins and keeps them evenly distrubted through the muffins).
7.  Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the liquids, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  DO NOT OVERMIX...... mix just until the ingredients come together smoothly.
8.  Rub all of the streusel topping ingredients together with fingers until mixture is crumbly.
9.  In muffin tins lined with paper liners, scoop batter 3/4 full of muffin cups.

10. sprinkle tops of muffins with streusel mixture.
11. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.... until golden brown.

My 'neck of the woods' is expecting a BIG snow storm early in the morning..... schools and business's were discussing all day today whether or not they would be closed..... so I made sure to do a quickie store run to stock up on essentials this afternoon on my way home from class.  If we really get the storm they are expecting.... I'm gonna have a bake-a-thon tomorrow for practice purposes.  I made sure to get the ingredients I needed to make more of those amazing blueberry muffins too!!  If you find yourself also burrowed in for a 'snow day', and you happen to have some frozen blueberries (or I'm sure fresh would do too) on hand, maybe you can make a batch of these muffins, brew yourself a pot of tea (or coffee), stay in your jammies and fluffy slippers, prop your feet up, and enjoy the magical wonders of  a 'snow day'...... because snow days are indeed magical!