Here in Northern Ontario we love our wild blueberries! I spend hours picking them in July and Aug and freeze them to enjoy all year long until the cycle starts all over. No one else in my family will help pick but they sure are eager to eat them! The leaf buds on the branches of the blueberry bushes are just starting to show so fresh blueberries are just a dream right now, lucky I still have a few containers left in the freezer. Summer is coming, hopefully…some day…so in the meantime it is time to start using up what is left from last summer’s harvest.

This blueberry muffin recipe is simple to whip up and makes an amazing breakfast. With the addition of bran to the list of ingredients you can even call them healthy!  The recipe calls for natural wheat bran which is usually found near the oatmeal in the grocery store if you aren’t familiar with it.

The lemon zest in the batter is an essential ingredient, at least that is my opinion, whenever you are using blueberries. Then with the lemon glaze on top it just makes the flavour that more intense and creates a good stand-in for dessert as well.

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Morning Glory muffins are a hearty muffin, full of goodness – carrots, apple and raisins.  So much goodness they could be labelled a healthy treat.  Perfect for breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up.

These muffins were inspired by a recipe from Butter Baked Goods, a beautiful Canadian bakery whose cookbook is the most beautiful I own. I received it as a gift at Christmas from my daughter Elizabeth and I think I have tried almost every recipe in it.  If I were ever lucky enough to have my own little bake shop I would definitely want it to look just like that one. It is located in Vancouver so drop by if you are ever in the neighbourhood- I certainly will be when we visit the west coast some day.

Of course I changed the recipe up a little as I always do and I am always trying to cut down on the amount of sugar in it. Cutting down on the sugar lets the other flavours shine through.

The farm fresh eggs that I am soooo lucky to have also make the world of difference in my baking. Thanks to my friend Pam who supplies me with eggs each week. I keep hoping she will add a cow to her menagerie so we will someday have fresh cream – just think of the possibilities!

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