I’m in Maine visiting family for a week so that means blueberry muffins! These muffins are light, slightly sweet, and loaded with fresh blueberries. I only use Maine blueberries because they are smaller with a tart, sweet taste. Frozen berries work just as well as fresh so hunt down some Maine blueberries and give these a try!
The Recipe
by volume                         by weight
1/2 cup soft butter               99 grams soft butter
1¼ cups sugar                    287 grams sugar
3 large eggs                      204 grams eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla              8 grams vanilla
2 cups flour                      256 grams flour
1½ teaspoons salt               6 grams salt
2 teaspoons baking powder     8 grams baking powder
1/2 cup milk                      122 grams milk
2 cups blueberries              200 grams blueberries
2 tablespoons sugar            28 grams sugar
Directions
Heat the oven to 375F. Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. It won’t be creamy but it will be lighter and almost white in color.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat until thoroughly incorporated after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk and mix just to combine. Stir in the blueberries just until they are evenly distributed. Don’t mix any more than necessary. If you do the muffins will not be as tender. Scoop the batter into greased muffin pans or pans with muffin papers. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with sugar.
Bake until the muffins spring back when touched lightly and are golden brown. Regular sized muffins will take 25 minutes (perhaps slightly longer if you use frozen berries) and jumbo muffins will take approximately 40 minutes.
Alternatives
Wild Maine blueberry muffins are probably the most popular flavor of muffin with my family but adapt this recipe to any fruit you like. Raspberries are a terrific option. If you use fresh berries be extra careful stirring them in because they are not as sturdy as blueberries. Chopped apples are another nice option. With apples I would use brown sugar instead of regular sugar and I would sprinkle the tops of the muffins with cinnamon and sugar. Pears are unusual but also very nice. Add a teaspoon or more of ginger to the batter to complement the fruit. Peaches, cranberries, and blackberries are just a few others that will make great muffins with this recipe.
