Blueberry Muffins
Recipes for blueberry muffins are common in 19th-century American cookbooks, thus, have a long history. Today, blueberry muffins are prepared in a variety of ways, varying in sizes, sweetness and topping; crusty sugar topping, sugary cinnamon crumb topping, and streusel topping are three of the well-liked blueberry muffin toppings of many. Some recipes add yogurt or sour cream. If you search the Internet, you will find many different recipes for them, and they all claim to be the "best."
Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins
from https://thestoriedrecipe.com/
This recipe for Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins actually came from my grandmother's "old green cookbook" (title lost over time). Made with butter (not oil) and milk, these are the most fluffy, tender muffins I've ever tasted. Unlike overly sweet bakery-style muffins, these have a more subtle sweetness, emphasizing flavors of vanilla and bright burst of jammy caramelized blueberry in every bite.
If you want a bit more healthy muffin, you can substitute 25% of the flour with whole wheat flour.
Use brown sugar or white sugar based on your preference. Brown sugar has more moisture than white sugar, thanks to the molasses content. This extra moisture contributes to a soft texture in muffins.
If you want to add more zing to your blueberry muffins, add some lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Another variation to your blueberry muffins is to add ground cardamom to your muffin batter. Cardamom will give your blueberry muffins a warm and aromatic flavor that has a Scandinavian taste.
1 cup Blueberries
1/4 cup Butter (or other shortening)
1 3/4 cups Flour
2.5 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
3/8 cup Sugar (can increase to 1/2 per dozen)
1 Egg
1/2 cup Milk (can increase to 2/3 cup per dozen)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).
In a mixing bowl, place butter or shortening and set in a warm place to soften to room temperature.
If you are using fresh blueberries, rinse and pat them dry using a water-absorbing cloth. If using frozen blueberries, to help soak up some of the liquid either toss them in a bit of cornstarch, rinse them in cold water, or bake the muffins for a little longer in the oven.
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in the bowl.
Cut in the butter or shortening with the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg(s) and the milk together until smooth.
Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, and gently incorporate the blueberries into the mixture.
Spoon into greased muffin tins.
If you want, sprinkle on coarse sugar or make a strudel topping and add it to the tops of your muffins.
Bake at 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) for 20 – 25, until golden brown. [and a toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean]
Yield: 12 servings
Sparkling Jumbo Blueberry Muffins
from https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/
These are extra jumbo blueberry muffins. Unlike my light and fluffy blueberry muffins (see recipe to the right), these jumbo blueberry muffins are bigger and taller with a denser crumb. If you usually pick up a muffin at your coffee shop, you’ll enjoy these!
My jumbo blueberry muffins are massive in both flavor and size. These extra large muffins are bursting with plenty of blueberries, have soft and moist centers, and big muffin tops. You can use a jumbo muffin pan or a regular 12-count muffin pan. See recipe notes.
I’ve had this blueberry muffin recipe on my blog for several years. Last year I worked to improve the recipe by adding more flavor and moisture. These changes include replacing some oil with melted butter, adding sour cream, and replacing some baking powder with baking soda. If you’d like the original recipe, follow the recipe but make these changes to the ingredient list: increase baking powder to 4 teaspoons, leave out the baking soda, leave out the butter, increase oil to 1/2 cup (120ml), and leave out the sour cream.
The batter is thick and sturdy to keep the blueberries elevated so they won’t all sink down! Feel free to swap the blueberries for strawberries or blackberries, too.
Success Tips:
Thick muffin batter: Thick batter helps ensure the muffins lift UP rather than spread OUT. It also creates a denser muffin instead of a light and cake-y cupcake style muffin.
Fill the muffin pans to the very top: Since we’re using an initially high oven temperature trick (explained next), it’s imperative to fill the muffin cups to the very top. You can make this recipe as 6 large muffins, 14-15 standard size muffins, or about 40 mini muffins.
Bake at an initially high oven temperature: Bake the muffins for 5 minutes in a very hot oven. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the oven temperature. This initial high oven temperature quickly lifts up the muffin top. Once the temperature is lowered, the centers of the muffins bake.
3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup (80g) sour cream or yogurt, at room temperature*
1 cup (240ml) milk, at room temperature*
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups (210g) fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Generously grease a jumbo 6-count muffin pan with butter or nonstick spray (nonstick spray recommended) or line with muffin liners. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon (if using) together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Whisk the melted butter, oil, sugar, and eggs together until combined. Then whisk in the sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Mixture will be pale yellow. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold together with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until completely combined. Use a whisk to rid any large lumps of flour, if needed. Avoid overmixing. The batter will be thick. Fold in the blueberries.
Divide batter between each muffin cup, filling all the way to the top. Sprinkle with coarse sugar (for added crunch, recommended!). Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown and centers are set. Stick a toothpick in the center of a muffin to test for doneness. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan before serving.
Cover leftover muffins and store at room temperature for 5 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week. Muffins freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter.
Makes 6 jumbo or 15 standard muffins
Classic Blueberry Muffins
from Stella Parks at http://www.seriouseats.com/
Real blueberry muffins are a type of bread; they should not be blueberry cupcakes. While they should taste sweet enough to feel indulgent, muffins also ought to be lean enough that I can smear each half with butter and still feel a little self-righteous when I'm done.
The perfect blueberry muffin is domed and delicately crisp on top, with or without a crust of sparkling sugar. Muffins descend from the family of "quick" breads—recipes that rely on the power of chemical leavening alone (i.e., the carbon dioxide generated by baking powder or baking soda).
Instead of getting creamed into the sugar, as with cakes, the butter is blended with all the dry ingredients. In the olden days, that was easiest to do after melting, but today's food processors and stand mixers make short work of cold butter, quickly creating a dry and mealy "mix." Chilly butter will make a batter incredibly stiff, which leads to excessive doming.
Because most muffin recipes start with a loosey-goosey batter that's more akin to cake batter, the dough will seem freakishly thick, but that's okay! Not only will that consistency produce muffins with a more pronounced dome, it'll also hold the berries in place by slowing their downward motion to a crawl. [Several reviewers said the dough was too thick and could not mix the berries in. Weigh flour.]
Whether you decide to keep things plain and simple, or finish up with a sprinkling of sparkling sugar (and maybe a pat of butter or two), I hope my blueberry muffins will bring us one step closer to a world where fake-muffin cupcakes are a thing of the past.
Tips: A spoonful of plain dough at the bottom of each cup prevents the berries from sinking. Blending butter and flour minimizes gluten development, for ultra-tender muffins. A small portion of fragrant, lemony coriander makes the blueberry flavor seem more intense.
Stella does say in responce to a commenter. "they don't have the greatest shelf life in the world, unfortunately." Don't know if this means they dry out.
FMM: This recipe uses a lot of butter and less milk than most.
12 ounces all-purpose flour (2 1/3 cups; 340g)
5 1/4 ounces sugar (3/4 cup; 145g)
2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
3/4 teaspoon (3g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or use the same weight
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
6 ounces unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks; 170g), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 ounces milk, any percentage (1/2 cup; 115g)
2 large eggs, cold
2 teaspoons (9ml) vanilla extract (optional)
12 ounces fresh blueberries (2 cups; 340g)
2 ounces sparkling sugar (1/3 cup; 55g) (optional)
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F. Prepare a nonstick or aluminum muffin pan by greasing lightly or lining with tinfoil or paper liners.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, coriander, nutmeg, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix at low speed to form a mealy powder, about 2 minutes. Add milk, eggs, and vanilla (if using), mixing briefly to form a thick batter.
Drop a heaping tablespoonful (about 1 ounce, or 28g if you want to be mathematically precise) of plain dough into the bottom of each muffin cup.
Fold blueberries into remaining dough, which will be extremely stiff. Divide evenly between each cup. If you like, top each muffin with sparkling sugar, about 1 teaspoon each or to taste.
Bake until muffins are puffed and firm, about 25 minutes. Enjoy immediately and store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 day.
12 servings
My Best Blueberry Muffins (Bakery-style)
from https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/
This easy recipe yields a dozen of the softest, fluffiest, most deliciously buttery blueberry muffins. Topped with a crunchy cinnamon brown sugar streusel, these rival any bakery muffin, but come together quickly in your own kitchen. They’re prepared with simple ingredients, so you can be biting into a fresh, warm blueberry muffin in under an hour.
They’re a texture lover’s dream with a buttery soft crumb, juicy blueberries, and a sweet crunch on top. They’re not as large and dense as my jumbo blueberry muffins (see recipe to the left) and have a little more flavor from the brown sugar and butter.
The sour cream is the magical ingredient because it adds so much moisture and produces the softest blueberry muffins ever. If you don’t have sour cream, you can use yogurt. Or you can use buttermilk to replace both the milk and the sour cream.
For tall bakery-style domed muffin tops, there are 3 directions to follow closely:
- Make sure your muffin batter is THICK. (This one is!)
- Fill your muffin tins/liners all the way to the top.
- Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at a high temperature, and then lower the temperature while keeping the oven door closed.
Topping
1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (67g) chopped walnuts (or pecans)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Muffins
1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (120g) sour cream or plain/vanilla yogurt, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60ml) milk, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups (210g) fresh or frozen blueberries
Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or use muffin liners. Set aside.
For the topping: Mix all of the topping ingredients together. Set aside.
For the muffins: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.
On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk into the wet ingredients and beat until combined. Batter is thick and creamy. Fold in the blueberries.
Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top. Spoon brown sugar topping on each, gently pressing it down into the surface so it sticks.
Bake for 5 minutes at 425 then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 18–20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 23–25 minutes, give or take.
Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Yield: 12 muffins
