Blueberry Fig Muffins

I only cooked one night this weekend for a dinner party to celebrate the visit of my friend Inbal. She moved to Israel last year, but she’s back for the month to visit friends in all corners of New York State and she spent the weekend on the lovely futon in my living room. (Lovely is a bit strong. Creaky and lumpy may be more appropriate adjectives.) I decided to keep things simple by using existing recipes, so we made salsa, salad, and a summer tomato tart. We finished the night with cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar and a tasting of our friend Sean’s amazing home brewed beer, along with a few rounds of Rock Band.

This afternoon was my first time back in the kitchen, and as I assessed the contents of the fridge, I was faced with a wall of questionable leftovers. The three items that held up were the blueberries, figs, and a forgotten lemon (it should have been zested for the tart), so naturally I thought, “Muffins.”

These muffins are a take on the traditional blueberry muffin with pureed fresh fig and a dash of lemon zest. I think they have just the right level of sweetness, but you could get away with cutting down the sugar to 3/4 cup. They’re also a great way to use leftover ingredients if you make the Fig and Goat Cheese Salad I posted last week. Recipe after the jump.

Blueberry Fig Muffins
-1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
-1 cup sugar
-2 eggs, lightly beaten
-1/3 cup milk
-1 tsp. lemon zest
-2 cups flour
-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. salt
-1/2 cup pureed fresh fig (5-6 small figs sliced in half and pureed food processor or blended with 2-3 tbs. water)
-1 1/4 cup blueberries

1) Pre-heat the oven to 375º and lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

2) Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs and beat until smooth, then add the lemon zest. Finally, add the milk and stir until fully incorporated.

3) Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Add to the batter in three separate parts and do not overmix.

4) Gently fold in the fig puree and blueberries using a spatula. Once evenly distributed, fill the muffin tins. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

5) Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the tin and cool on a wire rack.