April 26, 2014

THE BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

I first posted this muffin recipe over three years ago.  It was long overdue for some updated pics and a re-share incase you all missed it the first time.

Here is the original post:  

YOU HAVE TO TRY THESE MUFFINS . . . . I LOVE THEM! 

 I was watching an episode of America's Test Kitchen the other day and they were making these blueberry muffins.  Great, just another blueberry muffin I thought.  I was just about to turn the channel, when I heard it  . . . music to my ears. . . . they were using fresh blueberries and turning them into smooth jam.  If you know me, then you probably know that I have a big problem with fruit.  I LOVE the flavor, but it's the texture that I struggle with.  I can eat fresh pineapple, fresh strawberries, fresh apples, sometimes grapes and a few other fresh fruits.  Other than that, whether fresh or cooked, I can't stand to bite into it.  It sends shivers down my spine just thinking about it.   
I love blueberry muffins, but I always pick out the chunky berries.  Now, I can eat a muffin, which I love and have all that delicious blueberry flavor without chunky berries.  (The recipe actually adds fresh blueberries in addition to the jam, but I left them out).  

These muffins have the perfect texture, not too cakey and not too heavy.  The blueberry flavor is just right and the sugar topping adds just enough lemon flavor to know it's there, but not to overpower the blueberry flavor.   

These are best eaten on day one or two.  I keep them in the muffin tin overnight and loosely cover them with a clean kitchen towel.  I have tried storing them in a zip-top bag before, but the tops get sticky and I am not a fan of sticky top muffins.
THE BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
adapted from: America's Test Kitchen

Topping:
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Muffins:
2 c. fresh blueberries, picked over
1 1/8 c. + 1 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
4 Tbl. unsalted butter, melted & cooled slightly
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1.  For the topping: Stir the sugar and lemon zest together in a small bowl until combined; set aside.  

2.  For the muffins: Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a standard muffin tin with vegetable oil spray (or line with paper liners and spray).  Bring 1 cup of the blueberries and 1 tsp. of the sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, mashing the berries with a spoon several times and stirring frequently, until the berries have broken down and the mixture is thickened about 6 minutes.  Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10-15 minutes.  

3.  Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.  Whisk the remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds.  Slowly whisk in the butter and oil until combined.  Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until combined.  Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg mixture and the remaining 1 cup blueberries into the flour mixture until just moistened (if adding whole blueberries - I don't add them).  The batter will be very lumpy with a few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.  

4.  Fill muffin cups 1/2 full with batter and top with a teaspoon or so of the cooked berry mixture.  Use a toothpick and swirl together.  Divide the remaining batter between muffin cups.  The batter should completely fill the cups and mound slightly.  Divide the remaining cooked berry mixture between muffin cups.  Use a toothpick and gently swirl the berry filling into the batter using a figure-eight motion.  Sprinkle the lemon sugar evenly over the muffins.  

5.  Bake until the muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17-18 minutes, rotating the muffin tin halfway through.  Cool the muffins in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool 5 more minutes before serving.  Yield: 12 muffins.        


58 comments:

  1. oh i can see why you call these the best they look so mouth watering!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is the best blueberry muffin recipe EVER. I never say something is the best recipe because people say that often.This holds true. Move over Ree Drummond blueberry muffin recipe this is my new favorite!

      Delete
  2. These sound look, too! It's so funny reading your thoughts on fruits. For me, it's a textural thing, too!! I thought I was the only one!! I love all kinds of berries & pineapple. I can't even stand to smell a bananna, but I can eat things that have banana BAKED in them. Anything with raw bananna...ewwww!!!!!! It's nice to know there is someone out there like me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to know I am not the only one too!! - Jenn

      Delete
  3. These blueberry muffins really look fantastic! Great thing for breakfast.

    ReplyDelete
  4. these look like the best blueberry muffins. I love the topping!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The topping is amazing and adds a little bit of a crunch! Thanks.

      Delete
  5. Pinned & so gorg, Jenn! Saw them on the top row of FG - nice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Averie - thank you so much for the pin!! You are awesome :)

      Delete
  6. Too funny, I struggle with the texture of some fruits too! Glad there are others like me. These looks amazing and I can't wait to make them for the boys!

    ReplyDelete
  7. These muffins look amazing. So glad you reposted. I love lemon and blueberry together. I got some buttermilk to use up so I'm definitely making these this week!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lemon and blueberry is an amazing combo for sure! Thanks, Shannon!

      Delete
  8. These muffins are GORGEOUS Jenn! I love lemon and blueberry together - so fresh! Pinned!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love America's Test Kitchen! Their recipes are the best! These muffins look so great - so moist and fluffy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally agree their recipes are the best!! Thanks.

      Delete
    2. So I wasn't the only one who recognizd this recipe from ATK. In fact, I made them yeaty ago. I'm a huge ATK fan.

      Delete
  10. These look great! I'm always looking for a good blueberry muffin recipe, I can't wait to try this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love trying new blueberry muffin recipes too!!

      Delete
  11. Visiting from Saturday Night Fever. They look delicious, I love muffins and blueberry is one of my favourite flavours. I co-host Sweet and Savoury Sunday and would love for you to stop by and share these and other recipes with us when the party goes live tonight. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am sure these are great but I don't think I have ever seen a muffin recipe calling for Buttermilk that doesn't also call for Baking Soda as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That usually is the case, but this recipe really does use baking powder. You get a tender and buttery muffin that is so delicious.

      Delete
  13. These muffins are gorgeous, and I love the idea of the jam!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh my goodness, these sound SO DELICIOUS!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Can I use frozen blueberries?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I have used frozen blueberries before.

      Delete
  16. QUESTION: I don't understand the part about not using the whole blueberries in the muffins? what other kind would you use? and if they are whole then you only need one cup?

    Thanks, paula

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Paula - the recipe calls for two cups of blueberries. One cup is made into jam and then swirled into the butter and then the remaining one cup is added whole into the muffins. In my post I mention that I only add the jam portion and not the whole berries, because I don't love chunky berries. Does that make sense?

      Delete
    2. Swirled into the batter not butter - sorry :)

      Delete
  17. Do you think these muffins would be okay without buttermilk? I have all of the ingredients except that :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I recommend using the buttermilk, but if you don't have any you can make your own? Take one cup of milk, minus one tablespoon and then add one tablespoon of either vinegar or lemon juice.

      Delete
  18. Could you use fresh strawberries instead of blueberries? And would you still recommend the lemon zest or something else?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, you can use fresh strawberries, you'll want to chop them up. Definitely use lemon zest, that would be fantastic.

      Delete
  19. Can I use regular milk instead of buttermilk? I have to make these

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I recommend using the buttermilk, but if you don't have any you can make your own. Take one cup of milk, minus one tablespoon and then add one tablespoon of either vinegar or lemon juice.

      Delete
  20. Hello! First of all let me say thank you for this recipe! I decided to make them after eyeballing it for days. They are so tasteful, so soft, so so good. I took several to church and they were gone in literally five seconds, yes five s-e-c-o-n-d-s! I will always be making these! ---April

    ReplyDelete
  21. i made a rectangle cake ...... really good :)))

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi, I might've missed it in the instructions, but I don't think it said when to add the one cup of sugar, it did address the remaining 1/8 cup of sugar. I had started to put mine in the tins, tasted the batter, and realized it was missing. Next time I'd probably add an extra 1/2 cup of sugar as well as some lemon zest to the batter. Otherwise, it was a great recipe and I love the blueberry jam made with the fresh blueberries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, you add the 1 1/8 cups of sugar to the batter at the same time and mix it with the eggs. The "1" is at the end of the sentence up above. That might be why you missed it. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks :)

      Delete
  23. I made these and they tasted delicious. Big hit for the kiddos too.. Thank u for the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh my, these muffins were deeeeevine:)Made a batch and they disappeared rather quickly so thanks for a great recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is so good to hear. Thanks for letting me know :)

      Delete
  25. I will be trying these! I love muffins. They are my weakness. But at least these have fruit.:)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Look sooooo good! Do you have baking recommendations if I made them as mini muffins?

    ReplyDelete
  27. I *might* be willing to eat these! I don't want whole pieces either & I'm pretty sure I've NEVER eaten even half a blueberry muffin for this reason.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hello, is one cup of flour about 130 gr/4.5 oz? I want to make sure I don't use too much flour and make them dense? Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  29. I looove these blueberry muffins. This will be my third time making them. I made them once for work, another time for the house, and now for family :) Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe! I love your other recipes too. Those that have tried them have loved them... and I grate more lemon zest than is called for since I love lemon :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. I made these and they were so tasty! I love the cranberry orange ones too! I can't decide which is better so this week I made both. Thanks for the recipes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so glad you enjoy these muffins as much as I do. Thanks for letting me know!

      Delete
  31. Pinned it!!! I'm trying ur recipe right now as we speak, bringing some to my inlaws later. Thanks for the recipe ��

    ReplyDelete
  32. I don't normally comment on recipes, but this is, indeed, the best blueberry muffin recipe I have ever tried! The lemon zest in the topping perfectly balances the sweetness! This is now my "go to" blueberry muffin recipe! Thanks for sharing! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you decided to comment. I'm glad you liked the recipe :)

      Delete
  33. Ok I'm confused, the last cup of blueberries, do you use them, do you mean you mash them instead of adding whole?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, with the 2nd cup of blueberries, I sometimes leave them out completely. I'm not a huge fan of chunky berries. Sometimes I add them though, because my husband doesn't mind the chunks. You can do whichever you prefer.

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

LinkWithin