Blueberry Lemon Corn Muffins

As I sat last night contemplating the bowl of fresh blueberries in my fridge, muffins kept calling me . . . really I couldn't help it. :) I wanted something a little more out of the ordinary than regular blueberry muffins, so I went a-searchin' . . . and found this recipe for Blueberry Lemon Corn Muffins. Time to bake!

Now, given that I can't ever leave well enough alone, and also that I didn't have a few of the ingredients called for in the original recipe, of course I had to make a few changes . . . see below.

Blueberry Lemon Corn Muffins
yield: 12 (I doubled the original recipe)

Combine:
1 1/2 cups AP flour (I used "gold 'n' white," because that's what I keep on hand)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup fine cornmeal
1 cup granulated sugar (I use natural sugar)
2 tbsp lemon zest (I only used 1 tbsp, since that's what I had)

After the dry ingredients are well-combined, toss in:
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Whisk together:
4 egg yolks (I whipped 1 tbsp egg replacer with 1/4 cup lemon juice)
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup whole milk (I used 1/2 cup almond milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream, since it's been lingering in the fridge and I need to use it up)
1/2 tsp lemon extract (my own addition!)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together just until combined.

Fill muffin papers and sprinkle the tops with a pinch of additional sugar. Bake at 375 until the tops are golden brown. (The original recipe says to bake for 15 minutes, but my muffins needed MUCH longer than that.)

Result:

Oh. Yes. So tender they are almost precious, the first couple fell apart on me when I tried to take them out of the muffin pan. I allowed the muffins a few more minutes to cool, and, voila! Gorgeous, beautiful, sweetie-sweet, crunchy from the sugared tops and cornmeal interior, with a little zip from each blueberry and a comforting, lemony aroma. Mmmm.

This recipe needs some work, though -- too much white flour, too much butter, and too much sugar for my liking! As they are now, they are more of a dessert muffin, rather than a breakfast muffin, and I'd like to fix that.

Here's what my ideas are so far . . .

~ use 1 cup cornmeal, 3/4 cup AP flour, and 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
~ cut sugar down to 2/3 cup (or use 1/3 cup agave nectar)
~ use two whole eggs instead of the four yolks (or continue with the egg replacer)
~ use 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup canola oil in place of the butter
~ use the full amount of zest and continue with the lemon extract, for extra lemon flavor (the wholegrain flour will hide some of this, I know)
~ use whatever milk is on hand (once the heavy cream is gone, I won't need to use it up!)

Any other suggestions?