Prep
Cook
Serves
10 mins.
15 mins.
6
These are the best blueberry muffins that I’ve ever made. I have tried lots of recipes out over the years for blueberry muffins, but I’ve never felt that they were completely successful, until I found a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, that modified using whole blueberries.
For me, I don’t like the whole fresh blueberries in muffins. I actually continued to buy the packs of blueberry muffin mix from the store, because they contain dehydrated blueberries so they weren’t as juicy and damp as using whole blueberries makes muffins.
I’ve reduced the recipe to only make 6 muffins and I’ve reduced the amount of sugar because I try to in recipes where I can. These blueberry muffins have a great lemon sugar topping so they’re sweet enough for me, but if you like a sweet blueberry muffin double the amount of sugar.
I don’t add any extra whole blueberries like the original, but if you prefer some whole berries then add 1/4 – 1/2 cup in. This recipe has you to cook down the blueberries until they are a thick compote. It’s my favorite recipe and is perfect for me, but modify it for sweetness and fresh berries if you like.
I made 6 regular sized muffins from this recipe but it would work great for mini muffins too and for doubling. I used paper liners that I sprayed since the blueberry compote was sticky.
The only thing that I may do differently in the future is if I want to bump up the lemon flavor, I’ll add 1/2 – 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice. For now the lemon topping doesn’t overpower the blueberries so I’m leaving these as is.
I hope that you’ll try this recipe today and leave a comment below. Also, please follow @lifeabovethecafe on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest using the social media icons found on this page.
Topping:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 6 cup muffin tin with paper liners, and spray the liners.
In a pot, add the cup of blueberries and 1 tsp. of sugar. Cook the berries and sugar, smashing the berries carefully as they cook to avoid hot liquids from burning you. I smashed all of my berries as much as possible since I don’t love whole berries. My mixture needed about 5 – 6 minutes of cooking over medium low heat to reduce the berries to a thick compote. Once thickened turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool.
Mix the lemon zest and sugar together in a small bowl, and set aside.
Add the vinegar to the milk and set it aside or use buttermilk, but you may need 1 – 2 more Tbsp. of buttermilk since it’s thicker than milk, but add more of it at the end if the batter seems too thick not before.
In a medium bowl mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar together with a whisk until it’s well combined or sift the ingredients (I didn’t). Don’t add too much flour or the muffins will be dry. Stir your flour well before scooping, use a spoon to fill your measuring cup, and then level it off with a butter knife.
In a separate bowl that’s microwave safe, melt the butter and add the oil and yogurt (or sour cream if using instead) and then add in the egg and vanilla and mix everything together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients but don’t over mix. This is a thick batter, but it’s not sticky, if it’s too thick add a little more milk or another Tbsp. of yogurt or sour cream.
Fill the muffin liners with a spoon full of batter and then put a tsp. of the blueberry compote in each and swirl it gently. Add more batter in each cup and then more compote and swirl it gently. I used a butter knife but you can also use a toothpick to swirl the blueberry compote. Top the muffins with the lemon sugar mixture.
Bake the muffins for 15 – 18 minutes, don’t over bake them. I would check them at 15 minutes to see if a toothpick or fork comes out clean. Allow to cool before peeling the liners. Serve with butter or softened cream cheese spread.
