The mountains of end of season blueberries have been calling my name at the grocery store and I’m trying to gobble them down as quickly as possible. And what better way to answer than to make blueberry muffins?  I wanted the perfect recipe — tender but not too cakey, buttery with a light crumb, and absolutely loaded with blueberries. Not so sweet that it could be mistaken for a cupcake, but sweet enough so that it felt special and indulgent.

So, there may have been… several rounds of “research” blueberry muffins in our kitchen before I finally landed on this version. (Let’s just say no one in this house was complaining.) The secret turned out to be a blend of butter and oil for flavor and moisture, buttermilk for tenderness, and a high-heat start so they bake up with bakery-style crowns for those that think a glorious muffin top is the best part. And that’s most of us, right?

Make them for brunch, school lunches, picnics, or just because it’s Tuesday and blueberry season, like summer, will soon be done. Once you try them, you’ll understand why I finally stopped tweaking — they’re perfect just as they are so let’s get into it.

I admit that I’m really picky about blueberry muffins because they are ubiquitous. Every bakery has one, grocery stores have them, and the web has a ton of recipes. But it’s hard to find one that has soft and not dense structure, because that’s how you get the firm very tall shape, which is amazing. But generally they are also kind of dry, especially the second day. Plus, you want the batter to be fragrant and delicious, not just overly sweet crumb that binds the berries. And let’s make sure we have a ton of berries. Am I right? That’s the whole point! Finally, a crackly top never hurts, it’s literally the icing on the top. Just know that the crackly top is less crispy, the second and third day-if they last that long.

So my wish is that everything about a mediocre blueberry muffin has been addressed and you will be free of bad blueberry muffins for life.

I start making my blueberry muffins by whisking together the dry ingredients. I always measure my flour by weight rather than volume — it’s the easiest way to get consistent results every time. If I can use my experience to help anyone who struggles with baking, the scale is your friend, it never lies. And for people who do not bake often, you need some experience and repetition to develop a sense of how the batter for cake should look or is the dough too dry or wet? A scale will give you the confidence to start baking like a pro. It’s really life changing-at least in the kitchen.

 A cup of flour can vary by as much as 30% depending on how it’s scooped, which can make your muffins dense or dry. For this recipe, 2 cups of flour = 9 ounces on the scale, so you can measure it quickly and know you’ve nailed it. (No kitchen scale? No problem! Just use the scoop and level method: gently spoon the flour into your measuring cup without packing it down, then level it off with the back of a knife. This helps keep your flour measurement more accurate—key for tender muffins every time.)

Add the sugar to the flour:

Add the baking powder and baking soda:

Give it all a good whisk:

Once the dry ingredients are whisked together, it’s time to mix the wet ones. In a separate bowl add the melted butter to the eggs:

Pour in the oil:

Add the buttermilk. (If you don’t have buttermilk see my note below on how to substitute)

Add the vanilla. And yes it’s pricey, but nothing beats a real vanilla extract.

Whisk the wet ingredients together:

Now it’s time to combine the wet and dry ingredients for the blueberry muffins batter:

Gently mix until just combined, you don’t want to overmix.

It’s ok if small lumps or streaks of flour remain:

Then it’s time for the part we’ve all been waiting for- the blueberries! Add the star of the show, reserving some to top the blueberry muffins:

Then add the lemon zest:

Gently stir:

Now all that’s left to do is portion out the batter and bake the most glorious blueberry muffins of all time!

Top the muffins with the reserved blueberries:

Now the recipe says that topping the muffins with sugar is “optional”.  I hope you realize though that it’s actually not optional at all-that bakery style crackly lid is the very best part!

Now they are ready to bake. You’ll start them off hot so they rise high, then finish low and slow for a perfectly baked interior.

Let them cool for 10 minutes, if you can wait that long, and then take them out of the pan.

I can’t wait for you to bake these up so you can experience Blueberry Muffin Nirvana too! Let me know what you think, and show off you muffins by tagging us @funkyasiankitchen.

Looking for more well-tested baking recipes? Check out my Lemon Pound Cake or Chocolate Zucchini Cake-they are sure to become favorites with your family too!

Blueberry Muffins

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• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: makes 12 muffins 1x
• Category: snacks

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Ingredients

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DRY INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups all purpose flour, 9 ounces
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

WET INGREDIENTS:

• ¾ cup buttermilk at room temperature
• 4 Tablespoons butter unsalted, melted
• 4 Tablespoons neutral oil 
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FILLINGS AND TOPPINGS:

• Zest from 1 lemon
• 9 oz fresh blueberries, about 2 cups
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar (optional but delicious)

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F and move the oven rack to the middle.

Line a 12-muffin tin with paper liners.

Make the Batter: First combine the dry ingredients by whisking the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Then in a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, melted butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Pour egg mixture into the dry mixture. Mix gently with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Some small lumps or streaks of flour in the batter are fine. Try not to overmix.

Add blueberries (saving a small handful) and lemon zest and stir through gently.

Fill the muffin tin by dividing the batter evenly into the paper liners. Top with remaining blueberries and a sprinkling of sugar.

Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F and continue baking for another 12-14 minutes until a toothpick test comes out clean or barely a couple of crumbs. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling. 

Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Notes

*If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make some sour milk or use a substitute. For sour milk, combine 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to 1 cup of whole milk (do not use any other kind). Wait 10 minutes until it looks curdled. Continue using it as required in the recipe. You can also substitute plain yogurt or sour cream. Use ½ cup of either yogurt or sour cream and add ¼ cup of milk to thin it out a bit. Whisk together and it’s ready to use.

*You can substitute frozen blueberries for fresh. Use the frozen berries straight from the freezer (leave them in the freezer until the last minute) and do not defrost. The frozen berries have more moisture than fresh, so you will need to add a couple more minutes of cooking time.

Keywords: muffins, blueberries, summer, breakfast, snack, back to school