Vegetarian Recipes
Blueberry Rhubarb Muffins
If you’ve never tried rhubarb before, it’s tart, crisp, and only around for a short season, so grab it while you can! These budget-friendly Blueberry Rhubarb Muffins are simple, flavorful, and perfect any time of day (especially breakfast!). Juicy blueberries help mellow the rhubarb’s tang, while cinnamon and sugar bring cozy, sweet notes. I also topped them with a buttery streusel for a crunchy finish that’s completely divine. I couldn’t stop eating them…and I bet you won’t either!
Easy Recipe for Blueberry and Rhubarb Muffins
There’s more to rhubarb than just strawberry rhubarb pie. I had some leftovers from my pie recipe, so I decided to give this unique veggie (yep, rhubarb is a vegetable, but it acts like a fruit in way of flavor!) a new moment to shine.
These muffins are soft and tender inside, with just the right amount of streusel on top. However, if you’re not into a crumble topping, you can easily skip it. They’re dotted with juicy blueberries and pockets of tart rhubarb that combine with the soft crumb and keep things interesting bite after bite. Enjoy these homemade muffins with a warm cup of coffee, or pack one for an easy grab-and-go breakfast on busy mornings!
Budget-Saving Tip
Blueberries are usually available year-round (even when it’s out of season), but using frozen ones is a great way to keep things budget-friendly. Although, if you have fresh blueberries that need to be used up, feel free to use them in this recipe instead!
Rhubarb, on the other hand, has a short season and isn’t always easy to find frozen. So when you spot it fresh, grab a bunch and freeze what you don’t use…you’ll be glad you did later.
Blueberry Rhubarb Muffins
Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.
Equipment
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2 Medium Bowls
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Large Bowl
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Muffin Pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar $0.38
- 2 eggs $0.50
- ½ cup vegetable oil $0.30
- ½ cup milk $0.10
- ½ lemon juice and zest, $0.29
- 2 cups all-purpose flour $0.38
- 2 tsp baking powder $0.08
- ½ tsp baking soda $0.01
- ½ tsp salt $0.02
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon $0.03
- 1 cup frozen blueberries 130g, $0.82
- 1 cup rhubarb leaves removed, trimmed, washed, and cut in ½-inch pieces (130g) $2.00*
- Nonstick cooking spray $0.01
Streusel Topping
- 3 Tbsp butter cold, $0.45**
- ¼ cup brown sugar $0.13
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour $0.05
Instructions
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Gather and prepare all ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
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In a medium bowl, add the sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, lemon juice, and zest. Stir to combine.
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In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
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Add the sugar mixture into the large bowl, folding to combine. Lastly, fold in the blueberries and rhubarb.
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To make the streusel topping, in a medium bowl, add the butter, brown sugar, and flour. Using a fork, combine all ingredients until crumbly. You do not want a paste.
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Spray the muffin pan generously with nonstick cooking spray. Evenly divide the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly on top of each muffin.
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Bake for 15-20 minutes until the muffins have puffed up and are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
**The butter in the streusel must be cold, or the streusel will melt right off!
Nutrition
how to make Blueberry Rhubarb Muffins step-by-step photos
Gather all of your ingredients and preheat your oven to 400°F.
Combine the wet ingredients: Add 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, ½ cup vegetable oil, ½ cup milk, lemon juice and zest (from ½ a lemon) to a medium-sized bowl. Mix well to combine.
Combine the dry ingredients: Pour 2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp cinnamon into a large mixing bowl and mix together.
Make the batter: Now pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Fold together to combine. Be careful not to overmix, as this can make your homemade blueberry rhubarb muffins tough and dense.
Add the fruit: Now fold in 1 cup frozen blueberries and 1 cup rhubarb (cut into ½-inch pieces). I like to fold the fruit into the batter to avoid the blueberries from bursting and turning the batter purple.
Make the streusel topping: Add 3 Tbsp cold butter, ¼ cup brown sugar, and ¼ cup flour to a medium mixing bowl.
Use a fork to combine the ingredients until crumbly. You don’t want a buttery paste, so make sure your butter is cold so it forms nice crumbles.
Divide batter into muffin tins: Spray your muffin pans well with nonstick cooking spray. Divide the muffin batter evenly between 12 muffin holes and top with the crumble topping.
Bake muffins: Bake your blueberry and rhubarb muffins in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until they’ve puffed up and are golden brown. Remove the muffin tray from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Success Tips and Suggestions!
- Be careful not to overmix the batter! Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour, which can lead to dense and chewy muffins. For a soft crumb, I fold the dry ingredients until they are just incorporated with the wet ingredients.
- Use fresh or frozen blueberries. Just like our classic blueberry muffins recipe, you can use either fresh or frozen blueberries. Choose whichever is the cheapest for you! Just note that if your frozen blueberries have started to thaw, it might make your batter purple (which won’t affect the taste, just purely aesthetics!) You can also use frozen rhubarb if needed, but I’d let it thaw first. I’d dice it small and pour away any excess liquid before using.
- Dice the rhubarb small for an equal distribution of blueberries and rhubarb throughout each muffin. See my step-by-step photos above for reference. You should also remove the leaves (they’re toxic) and wash and trim the rhubarb before dicing.
- Grease your muffin pan WELL. I like to use a decent amount of nonstick cooking spray to grease my pan before adding the batter. This makes it much easier to get the muffins out after baking. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. You can also use muffin liners if preferred.
- Add a little cinnamon to the streusel topping for even more cinnamony flavor, as we do in our apple cinnamon muffins recipe!
Storage Instructions
Once you try these homemade rhubarb blueberry muffins, I’m sure you’ll want to make a double batch to enjoy all week long! Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days to maintain freshness. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature or ping them in the microwave for about 30 seconds if you want one warm and ready in a hurry.
More Homemade Muffin Recipes
The post Blueberry Rhubarb Muffins appeared first on Budget Bytes.
Vegetarian Recipes
Cherry Blondies
Whenever I’m craving something sweet, but I’m sick of the same old same old, I whip up a batch of these fudgy, chewy, fragrant Cherry Blondies! The creamy white chocolate, tart cherries, and crunchy almonds make this recipe stand out. This is not your typical blondie! I don’t use almond extract too often, but pairing its flavor with cherries and white chocolate is just a no-brainer to me. (But a little goes a long way, so use it sparingly!)
Easy Recipe for Cherry Blondies
Blondies are like brownies, just without the cocoa. Instead, they’re made with brown sugar and vanilla, and have the BEST buttery flavor and chewy texture.
For these cherry blondies, I mix in canned cherry pie filling (it adds a sweet-tart cherry flavor without a lot of fuss or cost), slivered almonds, and white chocolate chips. I also brown the butter first to bring out a nutty, almost toffee-like richness that’s totally worth the extra few minutes. A mix of brown and white sugar strikes the perfect balance of moisture and structure, while a splash of almond extract adds a frangipane-style flavor. Bake them once, and you’ll see why I keep coming back to this combo. 😋
Cherry Blondies
Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.
Equipment
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8×8” Baking Dish
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Parchment Paper
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3 Mixing Bowls
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Sauce Pan
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Hand Mixer
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour $0.28
- ½ tsp baking powder $0.02
- ¼ tsp salt $0.01
- 1 large egg $0.29
- 1 tsp vanilla extract $0.47
- ½ tsp almond extract $0.15
- ½ cup cherry pie filling $0.73*
- 1½ sticks salted butter cut into cubes, $1.48
- ½ cup granulated sugar $0.19
- 1 cup brown sugar $0.91
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips $0.42
- ¼ cup slivered almonds $0.87
Instructions
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Grease and line an 8×8” baking dish with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350℉.
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Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
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In a separate mixing bowl, combine the egg, vanilla, almond extract, and cherry pie filling. Mix together and set aside.
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Cube the butter and melt over medium heat until frothy, whisking once in a while to make sure the milk solids don’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
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Once butter is browned, it will have a nutty aroma and darken in color. (Babysit it! Don’t let it burn!) Remove from heat.
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Combine browned butter with granulated and brown sugar.
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Mix with a hand mixer on low until combined. Then, add the wet cherry mixture and continue to mix until combined.
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Finally, gently mix in the dry flour mixture little by little until a batter forms.
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Fold in white chocolate and almond slivers.
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Transfer batter to greased and line baking dish and add some extra white chocolate and almonds on top, if you have them.
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Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting. The interior may still be a little gooey. These are chewier than your typical brownie! Enjoy.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
how to make Cherry Blondies step-by-step photos
Gather all of your ingredients and preheat your oven to 350℉. Grease and line an 8×8” baking dish with parchment paper. Set this aside for now.
Mix the dry ingredients: Add 1¾ cups flour, ½ tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt to a mixing bowl and combine. Set this aside.
Mix the wet ingredients: In a different mixing bowl, combine 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla, ½ tsp almond extract, and ½ cup of cherry pie filling. Set this aside for now as well.
Brown the butter: Add 1½ sticks of cubed salted butter to a saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter until frothy, being sure to whisk it once in a while to avoid the milk solids from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan. Babysit it, and don’t let it burn! It typically takes about 5-8 minutes for butter to brown.
When the butter is browned, it’ll smell nutty and be darker in color. There will also be flecks of brown throughout (those are toasted milk solids, and they’re full of flavor). Remove it from the heat once done.
Make the batter: Pour the browned butter into a mixing bowl and add ½ cup granulated sugar and 1 cup brown sugar.
Use a hand mixer on low to combine the browned butter and sugars. Once mixed, add the wet cherry pie filling mixture and keep mixing until thoroughly combined.
Now, gently fold in the dry flour mixture a little at a time until a thick batter forms.
Finally, fold in ¼ cup white chocolate chips and ¼ cup slivered almonds.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. If you have any extra, top the batter with a few white chocolate chips and slivered almonds to make it look extra pretty.
Bake: Place the baking dish into the preheated oven and bake for 50-55 minutes. They’re done once a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let your homemade cherry blondies cool for 20 minutes before cutting for the best results. They may still be a little gooey! They’re definitely chewier than your average brownie but just as delicious. Enjoy!
Tips for Browning Butter
I brown the butter in this cherry dessert recipe because it gives the blondies the most amazing, deep, nutty flavor that plain melted butter can’t match. You could skip this step and just melt it, but it definitely wouldn’t taste the same.
It’s honestly so easy to brown butter, and only takes about 5-8 minutes from start to finish! Here’s how to do it right (we also have a step-by-step breakdown with photos on how to brown butter you can check out, too!):
- Use a light-colored pan if you have one. It makes it easier to see the color change.
- Watch it closely. Browning happens fast, and it can burn before you know it. Stay nearby and use medium heat.
- It’ll start to froth. That’s normal. Just keep gently stirring so nothing sticks to the bottom.
- Look for brown flecks. Those are the milk solids toasting, which is exactly what you want.
- Pull it off the heat right away. As soon as it smells nutty and the color deepens, about 5 minutes, take it off the heat! It’s ready to use.
You can even make a big batch of browned butter and keep it in the fridge for 1-2 weeks and use it in future recipes. It’s obviously delicious in my cherry blondies recipe, but it’s also amazing tossed with plain pasta, drizzled over roasted veggies, or mixed into oatmeal.
More Recipe Success Tips
- Line your pan with parchment paper. It makes it way easier to lift the blondies out and slice them cleanly once they’ve cooled.
- Let them cool in the pan. As good as they smell fresh out of the oven, I let my blondies cool for at least 20 minutes to help them set up properly. They’ll slice neater, and the texture will be just right.
- Check for doneness with a toothpick. You’re looking for a mostly clean toothpick when inserted into your white chocolate cherry blondies. If you hit a cherry or a melty white chocolate chip, it might smear a bit, so try a second spot! Don’t forget, they may still be a little gooey on the inside rather than cakey.
Storage Instructions
Personally, I enjoy these cherry pie blondies cold! I like to keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and grab one whenever I need a sweet pick-me-up. They’ll be good for up to 3-4 days when stored this way. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
More Delicous Dessert Recipes
The post Cherry Blondies appeared first on Budget Bytes.
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