Blueberry Muffin Donut Holes

Is it a muffin? Is it a donut hole? It's both! Don't get me started if it's doughnut or donut. Anyway, I wanted something fun for the littles to snack on after school. Heck, theses are great for before and at school too. Don't you agree that bite sized things are more fun? I am always on the hunt for something that is wholesome and tastes good. And maybe looks like the donut holes they ogle at the bakery. These were a hit. Even if my son has an aversion to warm melty blueberries. He can't really be my son can he?!

Blueberry Muffin Donut Holes

2 cups white whole wheat flour or sub all purpose flour

1 cup milk 

1/3 cup melted butter

1 large egg

1/4 cup white sugar or sub 1/8 cup maple syrup/honey
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup fresh blueberries or sub frozen blueberries

There really isn't a whole lot to this recipe. Stir together all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add wet ingredients except the blueberries. Don't over do this part. Combine just until it all comes together. Once you feel good about this fold in the blueberries. I used a donut hole maker, but you could do this in a muffin pan too. Pour batter into preheated donut hole maker. Don't overfill! You also need to work kind of fast. Close the lid and check on them after 5 minutes. Then every 30 seconds after that until nice and golden.

*If you are not using a donut hole maker grease the muffin pan or use muffin liners. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Test with a toothpick to be sure they are done. To really make sure they are done you need to eat one. And then another. I seriously couldn't walk past these warm spheres of goodness without grabbing another.

- This recipe makes 14 donut holes.

- If you want to get all Julia Child on me feel free to add some lemon zest, cinnamon or a glaze. YES, a glaze! I'm going to go do that right now.

- I used 2% milk, but you could use whatever it is that you have in your fridge.

- These should keep for up to a week in a sealed container. Mine lasted a whole three days. The kids really loved these.

Enjoy! Share with those who make your heart happy.

Rustic Pear Butter

I have a pear tree in my yard. It is prolific.  I tell complete strangers about it just in case they happened to be in need of free pears. I eat them out of hand. Then I make super chunky pear sauce, pear puree, pear pops for the kids, pear syrup, pear bread and pear butter. The list goes on. If it is possible to put pears into something, I've probably done so. And if you visit me in the month of September you will more than likely find a few pears tucked into your belongings when you get home. 

Let's get back to that last one on the list. Pear butter. It's so far left of any other pear dish I make. It's smooth. It has a deep and complex flavor. It's almost savory. In a word it's spicy, but not in a habanero kind of way. If you weren't familiar with fruit butters you might not know how to use them. I swirl mine in yogurt. Eat it on freshly baked biscuits. Atop a bowl of steel cut oats. Sometimes right off the spoon. I like it warm and cold. I'll let you decide. You need to know fruit butters. 

Rustic Pear Butter

25 pears (mine were small to medium) - washed, halved and cored

1 split vanilla bean or sub 1 teaspoon good vanilla extract 

1 cinnamon stick or sub 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon like Vietnamese
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg or sub a sprinkle of ground nutmeg

a pinch of your favorite salt
*honey or real maple syrup to taste if needed

First you will grab your crock pot. What?! You don't own a crock pot? You can do this on the stove, but it will cause you to slowly go mad. So go borrow your neighbor's crock pot, okay? Toss those lovely pears inside. Turn it on low. Toss in the vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, cardamom, nutmeg and salt. Cook for 3 to 4 hours. Remove vanilla bean halves and scrape into pear mixture. Mash with a potato masher and continue to cook until desired consistency. Let cool a bit and use an immersion blender or food processor to blend smooth. This will magically turn the pear butter into pear buddah. Oh yeah. Refrigerate or process what you don't eat on the spot.

- If you feel that this is not sweet to your liking add some honey or maple syrup toward the end. If you would like to make it a bit caramely use brown sugar. I prefer mine more natural. Sugar burns easily. Especially if your crock pot heats up as hot as mine does. I gave it the enduring name of Hot Pot. It is possible that the sugar will scorch on the sides of your crock pot and make the whole batch taste burnt. So be careful.

- If you are finding that it's not thickening up you can prop open the crock pot lid with some wooden spoons or butter knives. If you started with really ripe pears it will have more moisture to get rid of. I cooked mine overnight. Probably close to 16 hours. 

- A crock pot will make the butter a darker brown than if you were to do this on the stove. I'll admit that I used to think that if it wasn't a dark amber it wasn't a true fruit butter. Nah. I just like to think I'm a little more foodie than some. Not the case. Not the case at all. 

- You can peel the pears, but that's more work and less nutrition. 

- You can process the pear butter in pint jars by using a water bath.  Boil for 15 minutes. Should stay fabulous for up to 6 months. If not processing, it will stay good for a few weeks in your fridge. I've heard folklore surrounding freezing pear butter. Freeze at your own risk. Very well could change the texture. Then again maybe not. I'm too spooked to even try. 

Enjoy! Share with those who make your heart happy.