Berry Muffins- the Batter is almost as good as the finished product!

When I saw Pioneer Woman's Recipe for blueberry muffins using plain yogurt, I knew I had to try them. Unfortunately, I don't keep blueberries on hand. However, I always have Craisins.




I soaked the Craisins in water overnight, and they plumped up pretty well. I wouldn't go so far as to call them the equal of fresh berries, but they were sufficient.





The muffins feature a pretty standard assortment of dry ingredients. I didn't have nutmeg (I know, who doesn't have nutmeg, seriously), but I used cinnamon, and that seemed to work just fine. The real secret ingredient is plain yogurt.





I stirred the yogurt, oil, an egg, and vanilla into the dry ingredients exactly ten times (as specified by the recipe). This is the point in the recipe where I will inevitably start tasting the batter. Then I will carry the bowl across the house (it isn't far) to Steve, and he will also start tasting the batter. It is good. For real.





I sprayed my muffin tin with my Misto. A Misto is a glorious little contraption that lets you convert any oil into cooking spray. I love my Mistos, all three of them (I have one for olive oil, one for canola oil, and one for sesame oil).




This is how full I filled the little spaces in the muffin tin. It was the perfect amount.





Muffins cooking in the oven





While the muffins were baking, I started making the sauce. I threw some more of the rehydrated cranberries in a saucepan with some sugar and cooked it over medium heat. I didn't think it would ever thicken, but it eventually came through. (Don't you just love the avocado green spoon. We inherited it when we moved into our house in Alaska. Can you believe somebody actually left it behind?)




When the berries were sufficiently syrupy I took them off the heat and added plain yogurt.




Stirred all together, it makes this splendiferousness. :)

Splendiferous sauce + warm muffins = happy everybody (even if there's no picture to prove it).