In 8th grade, I took Home Ec. Now, I have a terrible memory. But, for whatever reason, there are several things about this class that I can clearly recall. We discussed the differences between deodorant and antiperspirant. We sewed square pillows (mine was kelly green). And we baked blueberry muffins.

Home Ec was a breeze for me until those blueberry muffins. I put the blueberries in with all the other ingredients, and when my partner and I mixed the batter, the berries squished and turned everything a bright blueish-purple. Only then did I consult the recipe and realize that we were supposed to fold in the berries at the very end, precisely to prevent this royal blue tragedy from happening. I couldn’t tell you the name of the teacher or who my baking partner was, but I do know that I got a C on that assignment for not following directions properly. It broke my little overachieving heart.

I don’t think I’ve baked blueberry muffins since that incident. Until last night, when I made this fabulous version from Cooking Light that weigh in at only 190 calories and 5g of fat. I basically followed their recipe to a T, but I’ll post it here, too.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
Makes exactly 16 muffins

1 2/3 cups quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil (I used vegetable oil because it was what I had)
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
2 large eggs
2 cups frozen blueberries (You can also use fresh, just skip flouring them)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Place oats in a food processor; pulse 5 to 6 times or until oats resemble coarse meal. Place in a large bowl.
• Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) to oats; stir well. Make a well in center of mixture.
• Combine buttermilk and next 3 ingredients (through eggs). Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.
• Toss berries with 2 tablespoons flour, and gently fold into batter. Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle 2 tablespoons granulated sugar evenly over batter.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.

This, however, turned out to be a mini muffin massacre. The minis fell apart when I took them out of the pan. It was Home Ec 1993 all over again.

• Not try to make mini muffins.
• Add wheat germ to the batter to make it even healthier, which I meant to do but forgot.
• Use fresh berries instead of frozen.