Lavender Blueberry Muffins

What goes well with lavender? MANY things...but I've found that my new favorite combination is lavender and blueberries in a yummy muffin form! I have enjoyed several of these babies with a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning while reading farm emails on the computer. Such a nice way to ease into my day...

Photo by Rhoda Peacher of hobbyfarms.com

Muffin Mix
1/3 cup sugar
4 Tbsp softened butter
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp culinary lavender buds
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Streusel Topping
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp butter, cut into chunks

Preheat the oven to 375 F and paper line the cups of a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a mixing bowl. cream together the sugar and the butter with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg, milk and vanilla extract and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and lavender. Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, to the butter and egg mixture. Stir together until well incorporated. Fold in the blueberries and spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup 2/3 full.

Prepare the "Streusel Topping" by combining the sugars, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in the butter by hand until crumbly. Sprinkle some of the topping over each muffin. Bake at 375 F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly brown. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

(recipe from page 212-213 of 'The Lavender Gourmet- Culinary Recipes for Entertaining and Every Day' by Jennifer Vasich)