These muffins are extremely light, tender and not too sweet! And when baked within insulating paper liners and wrapped individually in pliable plastic wrap, they stay soft and tender for days after baking. To enjoy these blueberry muffins throughout the year, flash-freeze fresh blueberries at the end of July and beginning of August when they are most abundant and voluptuous–some are so large, they resemble grapes! And because there’s nothing like the taste of a freshly baked blueberry muffin first thing in the morning, follow my Timing Tips and provide yourself and family with a delectable (and aromatic) way to start your day! Oh, and if using frozen blueberries, don’t thaw them first. You will need to bake the muffins a bit longer to account for the colder temperature of the batter when entering the oven.
Special Equipment
For the muffin batter
- Melted butter or nonstick vegetable spray, for muffin tin (use vegetable spray if setting your tin up the night before baking)
- 3 ½ cups bleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
- 1 1/4 cups cultured buttermilk
- 2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup flavorless vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups plump fresh blueberries or unthawed frozen berries
- 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar or vanilla sugar, for topping
Directions
To set up
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. If not using paper liners, brush with melted butter or spray the interior of a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin. Even if using paper liners butter or spray the tops of the tin, in between each muffin cup.
To assemble batter
Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl and combine thoroughly using a whisk. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, vegetable oil, brown and white sugars and vanilla. Mix well, making sure that there are no lumps of brown sugar). Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and, using either a batter whisk or a wide blending fork, combine the mixture gently but thoroughly. Gently, fold in the blueberries using a rubber spatula and take care not to overwork the batter or rupture the berries.
To bake
Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup and mounding the top (using all of it). Sprinkle tops generously with some granulated sugar. Place the tin into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325F and bake for 5 to 7 minutes more or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center and the tops are golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and place the tin on a wire rack. Cut in between each muffin (where the edges merged during baking), carefully lift out the muffins and stand them on a rack to cool. Allow muffins to settle for 10 minutes before enjoying warm.
To store
Muffins to be served on the day of baking should be placed on a tray and, once cool, covered with aluminum foil. Those to be stored for the next day should be wrapped individually in pliable plastic. Either way, they should be stored at room temperature.
Freshly Baked Muffins for Breakfast
The night before, combine all of the wet ingredients, cover well and refrigerate. Whisk together all dry ingredients and leave at room temperature. Line tins with paper liners and spray tops of tins.
In the morning, preheat oven, re-mix the wet ingredients and then gently combine this with the dry ingredients and then fold in berries. Fill tin, pop into the oven and set your timer for 20 minutes.