Blackberry Lemon Muffins

A little treat while the berries are in season! I have a basic muffin recipe that I alter slightly to make different flavors depending on what's in season. This weekend I made a batch of blackberry lemon.

The batter is really thick but makes a light tender muffin on the inside with a chewy texture on the outside. They come really close to the type of muffin you'd get in a bakery but surprisingly I've found that you don't need all the oil (and fat) those muffins have to make something just as delicious. You still need quite a bit of sugar (especially for these since the berries can be on the tart side even without the lemon). I usually make the big muffins- so the sugar in this works out to be about 2 tablespoons per muffin (not tooo terrible), less if you're using a fruit that's not so tart.

Here's The Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray your muffin pan with non-stick spray or use liners. I always make the big muffins (I love having something that feels like it's from a bakery) and this will make 6 (the perfect amount for us to not overdose on muffins all week). If you use regular muffin tins you'll get 12.

• 1 1/2 Cups of all purpose flour, plus one tablespoon (reserved).
• 3/4 of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of apple sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup of skim or non-fat milk
• 1 1/2-2 pints of blackberries (depending on the size of the berries)
• Zest from one lemon

Mix all the dry ingredients, reserving one tablespoon of flour. Add the wet ingredients. Mix just until they are combined- don't overwork the batter!

Reserve a few berries for the top of each muffin. Carefully coat the rest of the berries with the reserved flour. It's ok if you don't use all the flour or if you use a little more- you just want the fruit lightly coated, it helps to keep the heavy berries suspended in the batter instead of falling to the bottom.

Gently fold the berries and the zest from one lemon into the batter. Spoon an even amount into each muffin cup. Once all the batter is into each tin take 2-3 berries and sink them partially into the batter (this gives you muffins that look very pretty with fruit sticking out of the top).

Bake about 20 minutes (or until a skewer stuck into the center comes out clean. Turn halfway through baking so they brown evenly.

Enjoy!