Blueberry Muffins

In my opinion, you can never have enough blueberry muffin recipes in your baking repertoire. After all, blueberry muffins are the muffins of all muffins. Even though I already have two blueberry muffin recipes on the blog, that did not stop me from going out and finding another recipe that I love and now cannot live without. 

Since the recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated, it should come as no surprise that a unique method is used to make these blueberry muffins. You actually make a batch of homemade blueberry jam, which is then swirled into the top of each muffin before baking. I loved the addition of the blueberry jam, as well as the lemon sugar topping which was the perfect complement to all of the blueberries. Now you can see why I had no choice but to add this recipe to the archives. 

Blueberry Muffins

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated

Yield: 12 muffins

Lemon Sugar Topping:

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

Muffins:

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 1/8 cups plus 1 tsp granulated sugar, divided

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp table salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping, combine the lemon zest and sugar in a small bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the ingredients together until fragrant. Set aside.

For the muffins, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a small saucepan set over medium heat, combine 1 cup of blueberries with 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar. Use the back of a spoon to smash the blueberries and stir frequently. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a jam-like consistency. Transfer to a small bowl and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl, whisk together  1 1/8 cups granulated sugar and the eggs. Add the melted butter, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Whisk until fully incorporated. Add the wet ingredients and the remaining blueberries into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Add one teaspoon of blueberry jam to each cup. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the jam into the batter. Sprinkle the lemon sugar topping over the muffins.

Bake for 18-19 minutes or until golden brown in color. Transfer the muffin pan to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.