Big Beautiful Muffins

I just wanted that picture to clarify what I was referring to in the title.

A couple weeks ago I used up a lot of frozen bananas to make lots of mini-muffins and a loaf of banana bread.  My taste testers agreed the bread was still the best and Jake threw out a request for Blueberry Muffins.  He LOVED blueberry muffins.  Could I PLEASE make blueberry muffins.

So I pulled out my awesome "America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book".  I seriously love these books; I can't imagine that I'll ever need another cookbook.  They give a general muffin recipe, then include different ingredients to make your muffins even more special. 

[And Mike will vouch for the fact that I am THAT immature that I'm giggling a little every time I type "muffins".]

Anyway - real blueberries, made from scratch.  I envisioned how my Mother of the Year award from Jake was going to look on the mantle.

The first batch was regular muffin size.

Look at that exploded blueberry.  You don't get that from a box.  And I love these beat-up pans. 

I also don't like to cook with cupcake liners.  I just think it takes away from the overall presentation.  I'm all about presentation.

The next batch was mini-muffins.  1.)  I bought this pan - I need to use it. 

2.) Not often that you get to say, "Aren't those the cutest mini-muffins you've ever seen?"

The third batch was muffin tops.  Mike kept telling me awhile ago how he liked the tops of muffins the most so I bought this special pan. 

And when you pop them out it looks like you hacked off their body...

Then I loaded them all together for a big pile of muffin goodness when the family got home.

I had brought one down to Mike to test and later instant messaged him to find out if they were good (yes, we are truly that dorky).  The conversation went like this:

ME:  How were they?
MIKE: Good
[Me: stared at computer and thought, "That's IT???"  Silence.]
MIKE:  So good, could I have another?
ME:  Better answer

The vote?  Mike and Maddie were in favor of these - they gobbled them up.  Jake?  Not so much.  Turns out our "blueberry muffin" fan is a fan of the dehydrated stuff from a box.  According to him, "The blueberries just kind of explode in your mouth." 

Me?  I found one that included only one blueberry and ate the muffin part around it.  I might just make a couple plain muffins for myself next time. 

In other news....these decadent delights are now gone.

I'm both happy and sad about this.