Red, White and Blueberry Muffins

I first posted these muffins last year but as we are overrun with strawberries (and soon blueberries) at the moment in this house I thought it was a good time to revisit them! So I hope you don't min a little rerun today...

Red, White and Blueberry Muffins (Three Ways)

Normally for the fourth I make some sort of dessert but this year I though it would be fun to start the morning off with a little red, white and blue.

I came up with a few ideas I liked and was having a hard time deciding what to go with so... I just decided to post all three.

First I've done a red, white and blue layered muffin.

The red and blue layers are made by adding strawberry and blueberry puree to the muffin batter.

Second is what I like to call a fireworks muffins-

It also uses the same technique of adding fruit purees but instead of layering the batter you mix it up.

And Third, I've called a stars and stripe muffin.

The stars are made from berries cut into the shape of a star and the stripe is a layer of berries added to the middle.

All three recipes and berry star cutting technique are below.

Recipes:

Red, White and Blue Layer Muffins and Fireworks Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 cup apple sauce

• 1 egg

• 1/3 cup of non-fat milk

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Dash vanilla extract (use this only in the white batter)
• 1/4 cup blueberry puree

• 1/4 cup strawberry puree

• Extra milk and flour- this is for getting the 3 batters to the same consistency.

• Optional- red and blue food coloring.

(To make the puree I ran fresh fruit through the mini food processor.)

Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl, then add the egg, milk, apple sauce and oil. Mix just until ingredients are incorporated. Separate batter evenly into three bowls. Add the strawberry puree to one, the blueberry puree to the other, a dash of vanilla goes into the last bowl.

If you want to add food coloring to get a truer blue and red go ahead. For my layered muffins I went with just fruit. The fireworks ones I added a few drops to get more vibrant colors.

Mix each of the colored batters until the fruit is incorporated. Hold off on mixing the white batter- because it's very important that you get the three batters the same consistency if you want to achieve layers.

You'll definitely need to add more milk into the white batter. You may also have to add either milk (to thin) or flour (to thicken) one of the fruit batters, it all depends on how watery your fruit is. You want to end up with a nice thick batter- not to watering. (Thick enough to spoon the batter into the muffin tins not pour it in.)

Spoon the batter into each muffin tin first the red, then the white and top with blue. Bake at 375 degrees for about 22 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

If you want the fireworks version of the muffins: Add a little milk to the white batter to make it closer to the consistency of the fruit batters but don't worry about getting all three to the same thickness. Spoon batter in however you like (you can also swirl it around a little with a skewer). Bake at 375 degrees for about 22 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Stars and Stripes Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups of flour

• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup apple sauce

• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup of non-fat milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Dash vanilla extract (use this only in the white batter)
• 1/2 cup blueberries- plus large ones for decorating

• 8 medium-large strawberries sliced

Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl, then add the egg, milk, apple sauce , oil, and vanilla. Mix just until ingredients are incorporated.

Add a litte batter to the bottom of each muffin tin. Layer slices of strawberry across each one, add just enough batter to cover.

Then add layer of whole blueberries and cover with remaining batter.

To decorate with a strawberry star: Cut a slice of strawberry into a star shape and place on top of each muffin.

To make a blueberry star (my personal favorite) first select the largest berries you have. Then use a pairing knife to cut around the top half of the berry in a star shape. Fan out each point as needed and place on top of each muffin.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 22 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Each recipe makes 6 large muffins or 12 regular sized muffins.

Thanks for Reading and Enjoy!