Fresh blueberries and luscious applesauce combine to create moist and tender muffins for a perfect way to start the day. Bursting with wonderful color and irresistible aroma, these delicious muffins, adapted from The Country Art of Blueberry Cookery by Mrs. Clifford Davis Morrison, also make excellent snack or dessert with a cup of tea or coffee. The applesauce adds moisture to the muffins and its sweet and tangy flavor makes a fine contrast to the blueberries. The applesauce should be prepared ahead of time, or it can be bought in the grocery store packaged in a jar.

You need only a few handful of ingredients to make scrumptious muffins including flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, mace, eggs, applesauce, shortening, and fresh blueberries. Mace is the outer layer that covers the nutmeg spice and is sold either ground or in blades. It has a milder flavor than nutmeg and typically added to sauces, soups, sausages, fish dishes, and pates. Nutmeg and mace have similar aroma and flavor, with nutmeg being slightly sweeter and mace being more delicate. Mace imparts a bright orange tinge or hue that is like saffron to dishes it is added to. If you can’t find mace, you can also use nutmeg to flavor the muffins although in lesser quantity. For guidance check out some recipe videos online.

For best results, all the ingredients should be at room temperature before making the batter, including the milk, eggs and applesauce. The dry ingredients should first be combined together and blended and the wet ingredients are combined separately. When mixing the dry and wet ingredients, do not over mix until smooth. The batter should be a bit lumpy to incorporate air into the muffins as they are baking and produce a light and airy result as opposed to dense and heavy. The dry and wet ingredients are mixed together just until the dry is completely moistened. The blueberries are folded in last to prevent them from disintegrating.

Ingredients3 cups all-purpose flour1 cup granulated sugar1 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon mace2 eggs

1 cup applesauce¼ cup melted shortening2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin or line the cups with paper and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and mace.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add the applesauce and shortening and blend well. Add this applesauce mixture to the flour mixture, blending well. Fold in the blueberries.

4. Pour the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup ¾ full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minute. Remove muffins from the tin and let cool completely on a wire rack.