Blueberry Jam-Swirled Buttermilk Muffins

I would venture to say that someday - although who knows when - pancakes will make an appearance on this blog. We'll save that for a time when I actually decide to make good old-fashioned pancakes FROM SCRATCH and play the role of a normal food blogger who has a go-to pancake recipe. Or scratch that - make it a normal food blogger who makes pancakes, at all, ever. I promise I'll get to it someday. In the mean time, I did the next best thing (really the other best thing, since it's just as good) and made pancake-inspired muffins. Think pancake flavors, muffin form - like breakfast at its best with two favorites in one. Oh yes.

this recipe

So blueberries. Here's the thing about me and blueberries: we're kind of like on-again, off-again friends. This is probably about the time where you're getting ready to yell at me for not loving those cute little dusty-blue berries, but waitwaitwait. They can be good; I get that. It's just depends on how they decide to make an appearance and, in this case, they make an appearance in the form of sweet blueberry jam (or preserves) swirled into perfectly light vanilla-bean buttermilk muffins.  THIS I can get on board with.

I did something different with these muffins; instead of using butter or oil (as per usual), I made these with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! I honestly hadn't thought of doing this before, but when I found out that ICBINB came up with a new formula made from all real ingredients and ZERO artifical preservatives, I was 100% on board with trying it out. The new formula is a blend of oils, water, and salt, which means it has a lot less saturated fat and calories than butter.<---- I do love butter, but those two drawbacks mean I can't exactly eat it allll the time.

 Now, I'm not one to say that I have THE HEALTHIEST eating habits (there are pictures of nutella paninis and marshmallow-loaded lattes on my instagram account to prove it), but I do try to keep things balanced, so I like that the new I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! fits into that goal of having an overall healthy diet. It's also super versatile; just like the original ICBINB, it's ready to use straight from the tub (like spread on the best dinner rolls!), but it also makes a really good alternative to butter for cooking and baking. So let's talk muffins!

I had this random urge to make blueberry muffins the other day, but I didn't exactly want to go the normal route because I'm not all that crazy about regular blueberry muffins. So with my vision of blueberry buttermilk muffins in mind and a jar of wild blueberry preserves at the ready, I decided to make these cute and yummy little guys - nothing fancy, just a bit of morning comfort food reinvented. They really do remind me of buttermilk pancakes topped with blueberry jam, but in a convenient, ready-to-eat muffin form. You really can't go wrong merging two classic breakfasts, and these muffins totallyyy prove that.

P.S. If you don't typically buy I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, I'd still suggest you give it a try for these muffins, especially because it works so well for baking and cooking. And if you do try it, be sure to leave a review on the ICBINB website to help spread the word!

Blueberry Jam-Swirled Buttermilk Muffins

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Moist buttermilk muffins flecked with vanilla bean and swirled with sweet blueberry jam for a pancake-inspired breakfast treat.

• Cook Time: 18 minutes
• Total Time: 18 minutes
• Yield: 8-9 muffins 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 ⅛ ounces (½ cup, spoon and level) whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 ⅛ ounces (½ cup, spoon and level) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!
• 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar (or granulated sugar)
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1 egg
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 ¼ ounces (½ cup) low fat buttermilk
• 8-9 teaspoons blueberry jam or preserves (1 teaspoon per muffin)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease 9 muffin cups with nonstick spray.*
2. In a bowl, whisk together the pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a bowl and handheld electric mixer), beat the cream cheese, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, sugar, and vanilla bean together until smooth, wiping down the bowl and beater as needed. Beat in the egg until evenly incorporated, followed by the vanilla extract.
4. With the mixer on lowest speed, add about ⅓ of the flour mixture followed by ½ of the buttermilk to the batter, mixing each in until partially incorporated and continuing in this manner until all has been added. After last addition, continue mixing just until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
5. Divide the batter evenly between 8-9 of the prepared muffin cups, filling each about ⅔ of the way. Add 1 teaspoon blueberry jam/preserves to the top of each and lightly swirl in with a toothpick.
6. Bake muffins in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Cool in pan for another 15-20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

*I would suggest greasing your muffin cups rather than lining them with paper liners, since the muffins tend to stick to the liners a bit.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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