Best Blueberry Muffins

Cook's Illustrated (May/June 2009)

Last year, we went on a blueberry binge, making pies and muffins and throwing blueberries into just about anything we could.  We’ve been a bit obsessed with strawberries lately, but when we recently found blueberries on sale, we eagerly bought four pints and brought them home.

The majority of the blueberries went into cereal, or were just eaten as a snack.  But we were most excited that the presence of blueberries in our fridge gave us an excuse to make Cook’s Illustrated’s “Best Blueberry Muffins.”

With a title like that, Cook’s makes quite a claim. Are these blueberry muffins really the best? 

We’ve made blueberry muffins a handful of times in the past, mostly using random recipes we’ve found online. Any time that we’ve baked them, they’ve turned out well.  You probably wouldn’t line up around the block for them, but for a weekend morning treat at home, they did the trick.

The article accompanying this recipe discusses the author’s desire to create a blueberry muffin that compensates for store-bought blueberries’ lack of flavor, as well as a muffin recipe that gives blueberry flavor throughout. Having previously made muffins using blueberries fresh from the farm, she contends that blueberries available to most of us have far less flavor and a more watery taste.

In order to add more flavor to muffins, Cook’s presents an ingenious solution.  You begin by first making a blueberry jam:  fruit cooked down with sugar into a thick, flavor-packed compote.  This can be made ahead (we did ours the night before we wanted to make muffins) and set aside to cool. 

The rest of the muffin recipe is fairly standard until the final steps. Once the batter is in the muffin tins, a spoonful of blueberry jam is placed on top of each mound of batter and then swirled in through the batter, distributing the great flavor of the jam.  It’s an easy step but makes a lot of sense. 

Another nice touch here is the addition of a sugar and lemon zest topping that is sprinkled on the muffins prior to baking. It gives them a delicious, bright-tasting, crumbly crown.

So are these the “best” blueberry muffins?  We sure think so!  They were far more flavorful than any muffins we’ve made in the past.  Swirling the jam into the batter really does infuse each muffin with a great blueberry essence.

Below you’ll find this recipe, as well as several other variations on these muffins, including Blueberry Muffins with Orange Glaze, which sounds amazing. 
 
If you can find a blueberry muffin recipe better than this one, let us know.  We think this one’s going to be hard to beat!  

BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Cook's Illustrated (May/June 2009)
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(This Photo: Carl Tremblay/Cook's Illustrated)

MAKES 12 MUFFINS

Lemon-Sugar Topping

1/3 cup (21/3 ounces) sugar 
1½ teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon

Muffins

2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries, picked over
1 1/8 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups (12½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly 
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Note: If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk.

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.

2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes. 

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

4. Following photos above, use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.

5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS WITH FROZEN BLUEBERRIES
Note: Our preferred brands of frozen blueberries are Wyman’s and Cascadian Farm.
Follow recipe for Best Blueberry Muffins, substituting 2 cups frozen berries for fresh. Cook 1 cup berries as directed in step 2. Rinse remaining cup berries under cold water and dry well. In step 3, toss dried berries in flour mixture before adding egg mixture. Proceed with recipe from step 4 as directed. 

BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS WITH STREUSEL TOPPING
Follow recipe for Best Blueberry Muffins, omitting Lemon-Sugar Topping. Prepare streusel by combining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, pinch table salt, and ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons (3½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour in small bowl. Drizzle with 5 tablespoons warm, melted unsalted butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Proceed with recipe as directed, sprinkling streusel topping over muffins before baking. 

BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS WITH ORANGE GLAZE
Follow recipe for Best Blueberry Muffins, omitting Lemon-Sugar Topping. Add 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest to egg mixture in step 3. Proceed with recipe as directed, sprinkling 4 teaspoons turbinado sugar over muffins before baking. While muffins cool, whisk together 1 cup confectioners’ sugar and 1½ tablespoons orange juice until smooth. Drizzle each cooled muffin with 2 teaspoons glaze before serving. 

BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS WITH ALMOND CRUNCH TOPPING
Follow recipe for Best Blueberry Muffins, omitting  Lemon-Sugar Topping. In step 1, combine 1/3 cup finely ground almonds and 4 teaspoons turbinado sugar; set aside. In step 3, add 1/3 cup finely ground almonds to flour mixture. Proceed with recipe as directed, adding 1 teaspoon almond extract with vanilla extract in step 3 and sprinkling almond topping over muffins before baking.

STEP-BY-STEP  MAKING MUFFINS WITH BLUEBERRY FLAVOR THROUGH AND THROUGH 

1. MAKE BERRY JAM Cook half of fresh blueberries into thick jam to concentrate their flavor and eliminate excess moisture.

2. ADD FRESH BERRIES 

Stir 1 cup of fresh blueberries into batter to provide juicy bursts in every bite. 

3. PORTION BATTER

Scoop batter into muffin pans, completely filling cups.

4. ADD JAM TO BATTER

Place 1 teaspoon of cooled berry jam in center of each batter-filled cup, pushing it below surface.

5. SWIRL INTO BATTER 

Using chopstick or skewer, swirl jam to spread berry flavor throughout.

Comments

[maggie (p&c)]

I found this recipe to be VERY sweet...did I do something wrong, or do you like your muffins on the sweeter side?

[David]

I'm sure the muffins are great, but curious about the notion that store-bought fresh blueberries are less flavorful than farm-bought. Definitely, when you cook blueberries, the flavor comes alive. But does the flavor really weaken when blueberries sit for a few days and then get cooked? Is there a blueberry chemist out there who can enlighten us? And also explain why blueberry vodka smells better than it tastes? Blueberry season is just a few weeks away . . . I'll stop typing and go pick some.

[Green Bean]

Okay, I'll bite. I mean, after I try the recipe. I've been looking for a good blueberry muffin recipe, what with a few more weeks of blueberry season left here. Thanks.

[Zach @ The Bitten Word]

@ maggie -- Yes, I must admit these are awfully sweet. I did really like them, but you're right -- these are very sweet muffins.

[Zach @ The Bitten Word]

@ david -- I'm no blueberry chemist (but what a great job that would be!), but I think the issue isn't that the berries lose flavor by sitting in a supermarket. It's that supermarket berries have been bred to be the heartiest, most easily transportable berries. Their flavor is a secondary concern.

Or it's all just hogwash.

Oh, and no idea about the blueberry vodka. Can't help ya there!

[maggie]

I really liked them too! I'd just dial down the sugar quite a bit next time.

[DN]

Haven't tried your recipe, however, I have one from Bon Appetit that is so simple and outstanding! At least everyone who has ever tasted them thinks so. They are so good, I always double the recipe and bake extra large ones!

OLD FASHIONED BLUEBURRY MUFFINS
(12 regular size)
1 c milk
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 c unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 c sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 c fresh blueberries (or frozen, unthawed)

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups w/paper liners. Combine first four ingredients in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until butter melts.

Cool until mixture is warm to touch. Beat in eggs.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into large bowl. Add milk mixture and stir just until blended. Fold in blueberries.

Divide batter equally amoung prepared cups. Bake until golden and tester inserted into center of muffins comes out clean, about 20 minutes. (25-30 minutes for larger muffins)

Transfer to rack and cool. Enjoy!

[Irene]

Oh wow, these sound awesome! The only thing that could make it better for me would be a streusel topping. :)

[Laura]

So funny...I never am in the mood for blueberry muffins but you've gotten me there somehow!

[Mrs. L]

Last year I bought a ton of blueberries and absolutely loved cooking with them. I'll have to give these a try with the streusel topping.

[Alta]

I too saw this article and thought, wow, these sounds really good! Glad you agree, now I'll have to make them!

[louise]

First time here. What a GREAT idea. I'm attempting to do the same with my collection of cookbooks. I sure am liking those blueberry muffins too! (ALL of them!) Think I'll have to save this link for National Blueberry Month in July.

Thanks for sharing...bookmarked!

[tcamp]

These were very delicious indeed. I made a few minor changes: used orange rather than lemon zest in the topping; substituted a cup of milk plus a tablespoon of cider vinegar for buttermilk; and made 15 smaller muffins rather than 12 large.

Thanks for highlighting this recipe. It is definitely a keeper.

[amartino]

I just made these and I want to thank you for posting them. I've never made blueberry muffins from scratch like this and they are the best blueberry muffins I've ever had :) I'm now making another batch for my friends going away party. thank you thank you! this is my new favorite food blog now :)

[ToyLady]

Hello. I just made these muffins using berries I picked with my Own Two Hands Yesterday! You're right, they are very good, though I'm not sure they're the "best" I've ever had - my mother's recipe from her 40+ year old church cookbook is really, really amazing. . .

I think, though, that I didn't "swirl" the filling enough - I think, in the future, I would half-fill the muffin cups with the batter, add the filling, then finish filling. I've done that (long, long ago) with grape muffins, and it's AMAZING.

[Morisot]

What a fabulous blog! Thanks for all the work and sharing.

A muffin I like better than blueberry muffins...Gourmet January '09, Individual Grape and Vin Santo Cakes (MUFFINS!) They are quick, easy, and delicious. I like them as the starchy accompaniment when I make broiled fish or chicken.

(I use the regular-sized muffin tin alternative. I fill the tins a third, drop in 4-5 grapes-NOT dusted with flour-, fill with the remaining batter and then sprinkle with the bit of sugar, as directed.)

[Melanie Keenan]

Okay, I made them and these ARE hands down THE BEST EVER blueberry muffins!!! When I made the buttermilk with the yogurt though, I only had vanilla yogurt on hand and WOW!!! The flavor is phenomonal!!!!! Thanks for posting it and I'm soooo happy I stumbled on your blog by searching on Google!!! I'll be visiting a lot!!

[Hélène]

Made these and blogged about them. http://helene-lacuisine.blogspot.com/2009/06/blueberry-muffins.html We rave about these muffins. My friend made them also and said they were the best.

[brooklynbirdie]

Just made a batch last night & what a great recipe! A little more time-intensive than your traditional blueberry muffin mix, but so completely worth it. The jam throughout gives just the perfect sweetness. I used the Cascadian Farm frozen blueberries, as fresh are not in season right now, and they turned out just perfect.

Thanks!!