Making Blueberry Muffins

I've always had a pretty big sweet tooth and I really enjoy baking, even though I am not very good at it. I've made things in the past, like those store bought cakes you make from a box, but never anything from scratch. So when this project came around, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to try and "perfect" my baking skills. I went and bought The Back In The Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl and Griffith Day. This book has a bunch of different recipes for sweet treats all from a little bakery in the heart of the south. After a while, I decided to go with baking blueberry muffins, since I have always liked them. The ingredients included:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder, preferably aluminum free
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamon
• 1/4 cup ground canola oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup cardamon sugar or coarse sanding sugar for sprinkling

To begin I got all of these ingredients together, preheated the oven to 350 degrees and lined the muffin tray with paper muffin cups. I then got a big bowl and mixed all the dry ingredients together, which included the flour, sugar salt baking power, etc. and in another bowl I mixed together the wet ingredients, which included the milk, eggs, butter, vanilla, and canola oil. I mixed these all together separately was careful not to over-mix, (Day, 19). After mixing these all together, I did just as the author said, "Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid ingredients, and mix just until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries, using as few strokes as possible; be careful not to over-mix," (Day, 19).

I found that folding the blueberries into the mixture was a lot better than just mixing it in, since this way all the blueberries were still intact. After everything was mixed together, I used an ice cream scoop and slowly put all of the batter into the paper muffin cups. I put them in the oven and baked for 25 to 30 minutes and let them cool. Once they were cool, I shared them with my family and most everyone liked them.

A lot of people liked these muffins, but one thing I found out is, I do not like cardamon. It should have been a indicator to me that since the smell was not that good, the taste probably was not going to be good either. Overall, I think these muffins were pretty good, but if I were to do this again, I would not use cardamon at all. It made the muffins taste a little weird, but otherwise it was really good. I would definitely recommend this as a must try for first time bakers!

Do you think that if  someone used fresh instead of frozen blueberries, this would taste different? Is there any way to tell if an ingredient used in the recipe is good or bad for the recipe?

Day, Cheryl, and Griffith Day. The Back in the Day Cookbook. New York: Artisan, 2012. Print.