Blueberry-Orange Whole Wheat Muffins - NYR - YYYYY

¾ c. all-purpose flour
¾ c. whole wheat flour
¾ c. rolled oats
½ c. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon or ground cardamom
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ c. buttermilk or sour milk*
2 tsp. finely shredded orange or tangerine peel
¼ c. orange or tangerine juice
¼ c. vegetable oil
¾ c. fresh or frozen blueberries
½ c. chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts
Coarse sugar or cinnamon/sugar mix (optional)

1. Lightly coat twelve 2½-inch muffin cups with cooking spray of line the muffin cups with paper bake cups; set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon or cardamom. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, set aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix egg, buttermilk, fruit peel, juice, and oil. (I used orange peel and juice.) Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Using a fork, stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy and thick). Gently stir in berries and nuts. (I used walnuts and toasted them for 5 minutes @ 400º, then chopped them.)

3. Spoon batter into prepared muffing cups, filling each almost full. Sprinkle tops with coarse sugar or cinnamon/sugar mix, if you like.

4. Bake muffins in a 400º oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until they are golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in muffin pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups. Serve the muffins warm or at room temperature. Make 12 muffins.

* To make ½ cup sour milk, place 1 ½ teaspoons vinegar or lemon juice in ½ cup milk. Stir to combine.

We helped a friend pack up her apartment of 17 years last weekend and I decided I had to start clearing out some of the "stuff" I have been saving for way too long! First on my list was a stack of magazines I had in the back bedroom that had recipes marked to try. I really meant to not even look at those marked (I have way too many recipe clippings waiting for me to get to them!), but for some reason I had to peek. Several I had marked, in looking at them again, I had to admit I would never try. However, this recipe from Midwest Living, June 2009, still called my name. So I cut it out and this morning I mixed them up and was so glad I did. They are absolutely fabulous! That's why they get a 5 Y "Yummy Rating" of my New Year's Resolution's (NYR)recipes. Enjoy!