Blueberry Muffler

No, I’m not suggesting you dip the tailpipe of your SUV into a bowl of berries and serve it for dessert. But have you ever flipped through an old-fashioned cookbook and seen recipes for buckles, cobblers, grunts, slumps, crisps, and bettys? I’m not making it up. They are each a variation on a theme of cooked fruit topped with some kind of pastry, part of the traditional Americana cooking repertoire. Now a health nut doesn’t have much trouble with the fruit part, but like a classic apple pie, the filling is usually dotted with gobs of butter, the topping is made with ugly fat-intensive shortening and the plate is brought to the table buried in whipped cream. I resorted to a healthy version of the muffin as my solution, and supersweet blueberries that require no high-fat, high-calorie additives. The only problem: what to call it. So here it is—a cross between a blueberry muffin and a blueberry cobbler—the Blueberry Muffler.

• 2 pints fresh, washed blueberries
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Coarsely grated zest of 1/2 orange (thin outer portion of skin)
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup nonfat, plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil
• 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute