Blueberry Muffins

Sweet and tart blueberry muffins are the perfect breakfast treat!

I pretty much have a UFC-style fight going on in my head about who is the ruler of the TV kitchen. In one corner is Alton Brown, and in the opposite corner are Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison from America’s Test Kitchen. (OK, it’s not really a UFC-style fight, but could you imagine that???) I’ve always slightly given the edge to Mr. Brown because I started watching Good Eats way back in the day and he cracked me up…plus it was the only cooking show I could get my husband and kids to watch with me.

But I have to give it to the America’s Test Kitchen gang for these muffins. There’s a reason why the humble blueberry muffin is a breakfast staple in everyone’s home. They’re easy to put together, everyone loves them, they can be made ahead of time and the batter can rest overnight in the fridge so you just have to pop them in the oven in the morning, and they don’t require any special ingredients. But this recipe comes out on top for simply making a quick jam and swirling it into the batter for something truly special.

And if you’re like my daughter, who loves the flavor of blueberry muffins, but hates the blueberries themselves (she’ll site and pick out the actual blueberries), you can just omit the whole berries and just use the jam!

Blueberry Muffins

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 17 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Snack

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

Topping

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

Muffins

• 2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
• 1 1/8 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk **see note
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a muffin pan with liners or spray with a nonstick baking spray.
• To make topping, use a fork to mix together the 1/4 cup of sugar and the lemon zest. Set aside.
• In a medium-sized pot, bring one cup of the blueberries and one teaspoon of sugar to a boil. Cook over medium heat until the berries begin to break down, and mash with a fork until the mixture begins to thicken, about four to five minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cook for about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining sugar and eggs until they are thick and homogenous. Mix in butter and oil and then mix in buttermilk and vanilla. Add to flour mixture, along with remaining blueberries and fold together. Batter will be slightly lumpy…do not overmix.
• Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, fill muffin cups. The batter will fill the entire cup. Top each muffin with about a teaspoon of the cooked berries and swirl into batter with a toothpick or a knife.
• Top with lemon sugar mixture and bake at 425 degrees for 17-19 minutes, rotating pan half way through baking time. Cool in tin for five minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

**Alternatively, put one tablespoon of lemon juice in a one-cup measure and fill remaining with milk.