Precious Art By Precious People

Another fabulous back to school recipe to slip inside the little ones lunch boxes, or give as a snack once they get home after their busy day.

Blueberry and Vanilla Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

Generous ½ cup superfine sugar

Generous ½ cup blueberries

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

½ cup buttermilk

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Vanilla sugar, for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.  Cut out 18 x 3 ½ inch/9-cm squares from parchment paper.  Push the squares into 2 x 12-hole mini muffin pans, creasing the squares to fit so that they form paper liners.  Don’t worry if they lift out of the sections slightly, the weight of the muffin batter will hold them into place.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.  Stir in the sugar and blueberries.  In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the vanilla, egg, buttermilk, and oil with a fork until evenly combined.

Turn the buttermilk mixture into the flour.  Using a metal spoon gently fold the ingredients together until just mixed.  Don’t over blend the ingredients or the muffins won’t be as light.

Spoon the batter into the paper liners; it should be level with the top of the pan.  Sprinkle with a little vanilla sugar and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until risen and just form to the touch.  Let the muffins stand in the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer them in their liners to a wire rack to cool.  Serve warm or cold, dusted with a little extra vanilla sugar.

Makes 18

Tried and tested in the THASC kitchen