Blueberry Muffins

I don't think I've made a better muffin, ever. These were were absolutely amazing!! I think I've said this before, but I'm not a fan of muffins mostly because they're either too dessert-like (but suprisingly taste bad considering the amount of fat) or too lean that it's just not worth wasting the calories over. These however, were definitely 'muffin' muffins and packed full of flavour. Every bite had a burst full of blueberry yumminess either from the whole blueberries or the swirled bluberry sauce. Umm.. yes, blueberry sauce, but trust me, it was definitely worth the 5 extra minutes and extra pot to wash. Too bad I didn't have any of the dried blueberries the recipe called for so I had to omit them. Best of all, the crumb was moist, tender, yet sturdy enough to support all the blueberries. The combination of butter and oil provided both flavour and moisture, which made these delicious even a few hours later. We all know how disappointing it can be when a muffin or anything that's still warm tastes amazing only to turn dry or crumbly later on. The only thing that was missing in these muffins is a bigger muffin top, but maybe it's because I made them smaller or baked at a lower temperature.


I halved the recipe, got 10 muffins using my large cookie scoop and baked them at 375 instead of 400 because mine were a little smaller. I finally used my Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch pan I got for Christmas and I love it!! The baking is even so the edges don't dry out by the time the centre is cooked and the crust is perfectly golden without being burnt. I think this is the most amazing pan I've baked with, but I've only used Wilton, which suck because of all the trimming I have to do from the top doming and around overdone sides and Chicago Metallic, which are pretty good except that they brown the edges more. Now, I need to get some Goldtouch 8 inch rounds and loaf pans!!


The blueberry sauce is genius because you get a pretty swirl of blue inside, but not an overall blue muffin. It also provides a lot of moisture and flavour from the extra concentrated blueberry juice. I found the recipe at food.according to me.

I think the key to the tenderness and texture of these muffins compared to others I've tried is the mixing method.
* Instead of just whisking all the wet together at the same time, the eggs and sugar are first whisked by hand until pale and fluffy (I whisked so much the eggs and sugar actually ribboned and I thought I was going to lose my arm)
* Next, the fats are slowly whisked in followed by the liquids and extract.
* The berries are also added with the wet before the flour. Since they're not folded at the end, it helps to prevent overmixing. (this is my favourite step and what I've always done with addins to eliminate any possibility for overmixing)
* Also, it's important that the flour is measured correctly. Since these muffins aren't loaded with fat any extra flour will definitely make them too dense.

Blueberry Muffins
Recipe from food according to me

2 cups fresh blueberries, about 10 ounces
1/2 cup dried blueberries (I didn't have any)
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, 12 ½ ounces
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
8 ounces white sugar (I just used 1 cup, which is 7 ounces because my berries were really sweet)
3 large whole eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk (I used 1 tbsp vinegar and added milk until it reached one cup)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tsp turbinado sugar

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position to heat oven to 400ºF. (I used 375)Prepare muffin tins.
2. Bring 1 cup fresh blueberries and all dried blueberries to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently and pressing blueberries against the side of the pot, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened, about five minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in the large bowl. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Slowly whisk in melted butter and oil until incorporated. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined.
5. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in remaining one cup blueberries.
6. Gently fold in flour mixture until just moistened. Batter will be very lumpy.
7. Using a large spoon, divide half of the batter equally among the 12 muffin cups (about a third filled.) Place a heaping teaspoon of berry mixture on top of batter. Scoop remaining batter on top of berry filling. Using a bamboo skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter.
8. Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top of the muffins.
9. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes. (I took them out when a toothpick inserted had like 2 mini crumbs attached - almost perfectly clean, but not with huge crumbs attached either) Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool for five minutes more before serving.