Blueberry muffins from the pantry shelf, lemon and all

A good blueberry muffin comes out golden on top, tender inside, with berries in every bite and a little lemon to keep it bright. Most of us think of them as a weekend thing, or a summer thing, when the berries at the store are actually worth buying. This version doesn't wait for either. Everything but the flour, sugar, and lemon comes off the pantry shelf, and it bakes any day of the year.

You get the tender crumb and the real berry flavor, plus the nutrients that come with the ingredients, and none of it depends on what's in season. That's the whole point of keeping the pantry stocked. Dinner, or breakfast, doesn't have to wait on a grocery run.

What the pantry does for these muffins

Two things carry this recipe, and both come off the shelf.

• The Freeze Dried Blueberries are the trick to making these any month of the year. Rehydrated, they plump up with deep color and full flavor, often better than the pale out-of-season berries you'd pick up at the store. The freeze-drying keeps the antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins in the fruit.
• The powdered Vitamin Butter, Vitamin Eggs, and Vitamin Milk give you the fat, structure, and richness good baking needs. They keep for years on the shelf, so there's no last-minute run to the store and nothing going bad in the fridge before you use it.

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Classic blueberry muffins with lemon zest

Makes 12 standard muffins.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
• 1 ½ cup rehydrated freeze dried blueberries
• ¼ cup Powdered Vitamin Butter
• ¼ cup Powdered Vitamin Eggs
• 2 tbsp Powdered Vitamin Milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners so the muffins release clean.
2. Bring the shelf-stable ingredients back to life first.
   1. Blueberries: soak the freeze dried blueberries in warm water until they plump up and turn deep blue. Drain off the extra liquid before you use them.
   2. Butter: stir 4 tbsp of the Powdered Vitamin Butter with 2 tsp of water until it's smooth and soft. That gives you about ¼ cup.
   3. Eggs: whisk ¼ cup of the Powdered Vitamin Eggs with ⅓ cup of water until smooth. That's the same as 2 eggs.
   4. Milk: mix 2 tbsp of the Powdered Vitamin Milk with 1 cup of water until the powder dissolves.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest together. For more lemon, rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers first. It releases the oils and you can smell the difference.
4. In another bowl, whisk the butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
5. Pour the wet into the dry and stir until it just comes together. Stop there. Overmixing makes tough muffins. Fold in the blueberries last. Toss them in a little flour first and they won't all sink to the bottom.
6. Divide the batter across the 12 cups. Bake 18 to 22 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
7. Let them sit in the tin 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack. They're best warm, with a little butter.

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A few things that help

• These freeze well. Cool them all the way, freeze them on a baking sheet first, then move them to an airtight container. Grab one on a busy morning.
• Swap half the blueberries for Freeze Dried Strawberry Slices for a mixed-berry batch, or add ¼ tsp of almond extract for a nutty note.
• For bite-sized muffins, use a mini muffin tin and bake 12 to 15 minutes at the same temperature.

The short of it

Lemon, real blueberry flavor from Freeze Dried Blueberries, and powdered Vitamin Butter, Vitamin Eggs, and Vitamin Milk that keep for years. Bake a batch on a slow morning and you'll see why the shelf earns its space.