Whey Protein Blueberry Muffins

I was out perusing the interwebs for recipes that use liquid whey.  I have usually about a quart of whey left over from making yogurt and I always hate throwing it out, but never knew what to do with it.

Search success!!! I found this blueberry muffin recipe on the King Arthur Flour website.  They had a list of several things that you could make with whey, and some ideas for using it as a substitute.  Turns out you can generally use whey in place of buttermilk in recipes.  So much fun!!  I plan on checking some of the others out, but for now, enjoy the muffins

Here is the recipe for you convenience.

Liquid Whey Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour or Premium Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or plain (not Greek) yogurt; or 1 1/4 cups liquid whey*
cinnamon-sugar or coarse white sparkling sugar for topping, optional

*The liquid drained from plain yogurt when you make thick, Greek-style yogurt.

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease the cups of a standard muffin pan; or line with paper baking cups, and grease the paper cups.

2) Whisk together all of the dry ingredients, including the blueberries.

3) In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, vegetable oil, and buttermilk or whey.

4) Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring just to combine.

5) Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them nearly full. A slightly heaped muffin scoop of batter is the right amount.

6) Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse sparkling sugar or cinnamon sugar, if desired.

7) Bake the muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.

8) Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes (or when they're cool enough to handle) transfer them to a rack to cool. Serve warm, or at room temperature. Store leftovers loosely wrapped at room temperature.


Yield: 12 muffins.