Baking with Buttermilk

I never thought the buttermilk was going to come to an end. After I made the Reeses cake and the oven fried chicken I figured maybe one more recipe, turns out after I made the banana muffins there was still more buttermilk left. For some reason I was quite determined to use up all the buttermilk so I quickly printed out another recipe and got to work. I made a batch  of banana-buttermilk muffins and also a vanilla buttermilk pound cake. I added frozen blueberries I had in the house to the pound cake to give it a  little extra something since I wasn't in the mood for plain cake, I'm looking forward to seeing how it turned out, so far the pound cake looks really good. After all this I finally used up the container of buttermilk, they really need to start making smaller containers of buttermilk for sale!

Banana-Buttermilk Muffins
Source: Apple A Day
From Williams-Sonoma, Essentials of Healthful Cooking

Ingredients:
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 c. whole-wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar (less if your bananas are very sweet)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. low-fat buttermilk
1 c. mashed ripe banana
2 TBSP canola oil
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degree Farenheit.  Spray a standard-sized muffin tin (the recipe will make 12 to 15 muffins) with canola oil spray or use paper liners. In a large bowl, stir together the flours, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, banana, canola oil, egg, and vanilla.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin, filling each about three-fourths full.  (I like to use a standard-sized scoop.)  Sprinkle the tops evenly with walnuts. Bake the muffins until they are very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes.  Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes, then turn out and let cool completely.  The muffins will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for two to three days or in the freezer for up to two months.

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cake -- With Blueberries! 
Source: Stephanie Cooks (Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:
1.5 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries - My Add! (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt); stir with a whisk. Place sugar, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg white, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and buttermilk to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon batter into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pans. Cool completely on a wire rack.

ps.... The Blueberry Pound cake turned out FANTASTIC. I gave the baked goods to my brother and his roommate and they both commented that the pound cake was outstanding. This is absolutely a make again recipe. It was so moist and delicious, we all loved every bite of it!