Sundown Muffins

I wasn't able to post yesterday because I was too busy making something for a very special lady: my grandma :) She's going through intense pain due to rheumatoid athritis & can't move very much at the moment, so my sweetheart, my brother & I paid her a visit yesterday. To brighten up her day, I thought I'd make some blueberry muffins.

Be forewarned, the pictures are terrible! I call them "Sundown Muffins" because I took the photos as the sun was setting. Hence, the pretty daylight effect transitioning into ugly yellowed lighting. Shush. Don't judge me. Someday I"ll have Bakerella quality pictures and the world will smile.

The recipe is from Martha Stewart's , "Cupcakes." (i'll post the recipe later)

Random but necessary: watching her interact with guests on her tv show makes me cringe---it seems that woman can't smile to save her life! hahah..she doesn't have the charm of my ULTIMATE favorite, (Miss Paula Deen) but I do admit that her recipes have never failed. ;D

Martha's Blueberry Cupcakes (oh common, martha, they're muffins just say it!)..with a few little twerks..



Meet the players...&& Hello, sunlight! (tip: things bake a lot better when everything's at room temperature). Yes, those are white chocolate chips you see! the rice krispies i'll explain later.
why the albino cocoa nibs? BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH BLUEBERRIES!
there. i said it.


start by creaming the butter & sugar together.


till it looks like it can clog your arteries. yup, just like this. perfect!


add one egg at a time, and mix just until each one is incorporated


sift those powders, baby! both flours + baking soda + salt


I'm dreaming..of...a chubby.. Christmas


now everyone becomes best friends! alternate the flour mixture.. with..


the milk ..make sure youre just on the "stir" feature; unless you want a free butter facial.


toss the blueberries & white chocolate chips in flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
you can see that I very carefully forgot here. oh goodness.
anyway, mix in the blueberries & white chocolate chips by hand


behold, the secret to perfectly uniform cupcakes. prevent simpson inspired (DOH!) monologues from occurring due to varying sizes. with an ice cream scoop, not only does it make an army of identical little cakes, it also makes baking go a lot quicker!


for standard sized muffin tins, i usually add an additional mini scoop on top. isn't it cute? I found with just one single red scoop, the cupcakes come out a bit too small and don't reach the top.


TOLD YOU EVERYONE'S BEST FRIENDS NOW! the cupcakes are even giving each other piggy back rides!


yes, this is the game-changer ladies & gentlemen? why in the world would i put rice krispies on these thangs? a) because I felt like it, b) to add a different element of texture, c) our milk was expired so i was determined to have rice krispies SOMEHOW & most importantly c) I'M ASIAN. WE EAT RICE WITH EVERYTHING. Bake these bad boys at 350 in the oven. Martha says that the cupcakes should be baked until about 25 minutes or until they spring back when pressed lightly but  I NEVER follow the timed instructions for recipes.

The sweetest tip I could give you (no pun intended): UNDERBAKE YOUR CUPCAKES!
When you press the top, it should give you a slight jump back.. yes, this is true..however, it shouldn't be
baked all the way. Some of the cupcakes even had raw dough in the middle (but it was ok since it was just on the top surface & in the center).

Think about it.. when they come out of the oven they still think they're at the party, so they're gonna keep burnin' up before they cool down! As long as the surrounding sides spring back, & the center is ALMOST cooked all the way... eject baby! eject!

The finished product:



ps. she loved them :) she was so happy that I brought her a whole dozen --i put them right in her room :)
we sang to her (me on vocs & my boy on guitar) because she loves gospel music & it took every ounce not to cry when I saw her bawling!
agh. grandmas are supposed to be immortal..aren't they? :(


I got these earrings from Pattyes Closet in Montrose (for only $0.99!!). My grandma looked so full of life when I took this picture of her. I haven't seen her wear jewelry in years so I put my clip on earrings on her. I think she looked stunning.


Everyone says I don't look like my `rents, but my grandma. ..i think that's a huge compliment :P Here she is, channeling Bruce Springsteen. (I made her throw the rock sign up, but felt bad cuz she couldn't even bend her fingers due to the terrible athritis...funny + sad at the same time haha)

on a brighter note, the weekend is here! hooray! the 3rd weekend of the year! how are everyone's goals/resolutions coming along? anyone doing anything exciting/new this weekend? Happy Friday, folks! I'm off to work!