Flat Blueberry Muffins: Another consequence of law school

Yesterday morning, I was excited to bake blueberry muffins with a very highly rated recipe, using blueberries that my mother had picked (mom has this blueberry-picking fetish of sorts, which is nice, because we all end up with pounds of organic, North Carolina grown blueberries).

I followed the recipe to a "T" and awaited the promised glory of fresh, streusel topping muffins to accompany my coffee and Sunday paper.  When they were done, I admit I was disappointed.  That didn't stop me from eating 3 of the flat muffins.

I wondered why the muffins didn't turn out well.  I called up a culinary-minded friend of mine who promptly asked about my baking soda. I replied that I didn't use baking soda, just baking powder. Hmm...

Looked at the baking powder... "Best if used before July 2003"

Obviously I didn't do much baking in those 4 years I went to law school at night while I worked full-time during the day.  I tossed the can and bought a new can of powder at my trusty convenience store.

The second batch of muffins came out gloriously.  Sometimes the second time around is sweeter and better anyway...