Blueberry Muffins and a Birthday for for my Baby

A friend told me once, "Blueberries are like God's natural candy". I couldn't agree more. I have a hard time thinking of a fruit I enjoy more than fresh blueberries, especially ones we picked.
The kids and I picked 5 gallons of blueberries from local farms this June. Only 3 of those gallons made it to the freezer. In just a few weeks, we managed to eat 2 entire gallons of fresh blueberries. And we could have eaten more.

But I was determined to hide them away in the freezer for use throughout the fall and winter. I'm exceptionally stingy with them and won't let the kids just nibble at them whenever they want.
Sigh. One of these years we're going to have our own blueberry plants and not have to ration them so much. 

So my *baby* Miranda just turned 3 last week. Take a look at her.

Oh, this girl. So expressive, so affectionate, strong-willed, compassionate, clever, talkative, friendly, and full of sass. "Just like her mama," Grant says. (about the sass part)

And ohhhhh, those eyelashes. Just look at the upper right photo. 

Yeah. I'm jealous too. 

She is a blessing to our family and many others and just a precious delight. When she's not screaming, of course. :) 

We can't imagine our lives without her!

"Faces of Miranda"

Miranda is one of my biggest blueberry lovers. She would eat bowls full every day if I let her. So when deliberating what to make for her birthday breakfast, it didn't take me long to decide on blueberry muffins. (I decided against her original suggestion of spaghetti, mean mom that I am.)
Just as predicted, she was delighted, as were the rest of the children.

You just can't go wrong with tender, slightly sweet muffins with those juicy berries.
I decreased the sugar from the original by half, and the muffins are still sweet enough.
Of course, you can half the recipe if you're not wanting 24 muffins. I just always would rather  have too many than too little, and nobody complains about a leftover muffin the next day. I'm sure that extras would freeze nicely, too.

Blueberry Muffins
from Rebekah's Family, Food, and Fun

Yield: 24 muffins

4 cups all purpose flour (can substitute white whole wheat)
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 large eggs
1 cup oil (I use expeller pressed coconut oil)
1 cup milk, warmed in microwave
4 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and oil. Add the warm milk and vanilla extract.
• Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir just until combined. 
• If using fresh blueberries, wash and drain them, then stir into batter. If using frozen blueberries, place in a colander and run hot tap water over them for about 20 seconds. Drain berries well, then stir into batter. (This step really helps - if you don't do it, the berries will clump together  when stirred into the batter. Trust me, I know.)
• Use muffin liners or grease 24 muffin cups. Fill cups 3/4 full and bake for 15- 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. If making mini-muffins, start checking at 10 minutes. 
• Cool in pan for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. 

Source: Adapted slightly from Tammy's Recipes (I reduced sugar and amount of blueberries)