Monday, August 19, 2013

Dream Blueberry Muffins

Did you know that Mystery Lovers' Kitchen just passed its fourth anniversary? Thank you so much for reading our blog and joining our lives. We've posted recipes that were fabulous and a few recipes that didn't turn out quite as we would have liked (it happens to everyone!). We've had some good laughs and a lot of fun along the way but the best part by far, has been getting to know our readers.

For Cleo, Daryl/Avery, and me, four years means we've posted over 200 recipes each! That's a lot of recipes. Occasionally one of our newer members will suggest that we do a week of favorite family recipes, which always makes me giggle. 200 recipes later, I have precious few family recipes left to share!

This week I asked my mom what she would like. After all, I might as well make something she'll enjoy. She voted for something she could eat as a mid-morning snack or with afternoon tea. I gave her a choice: lemon, peach, blueberry, or chocolate. She went with blueberry.

Over the years, we have posted blueberry pies, blueberry crumbles, blueberry turnovers, blueberry bars, blueberry tea cakes, blueberry tarts and blueberry muffins. So I went to the web to see what else I could possibly do with blueberries. And what did I find? A post called Finally, The Blueberry Muffin of My Dreams! How could I possibly pass that up? As someone who has baked, tweaked and eaten my way through countless variations of recipes trying to get them just right, I admire anyone who sticks with it until something is exactly the way it should be. This recipe comes from Jaclyn at Cooking Classy.

A few things drew me to the recipe. Jaclyn made a separate crumb crust for the muffins. She also used oil instead of butter. I'm a big fan of baking with oil, especially when it's something that is prone to being a little (smack your lips here) dry. And she baked them at 400 degrees! I thought I might add a little sugar drizzle to the top, but honestly, they don't need it. I think Jaclyn has truly achieved the perfect blueberry muffin.

And here's the best news. They're very easy to make. As with most muffins, you want to be careful not to over-mix the batter. It's so lovely that you can feel the air in it when you fold in the blueberries. Mine came out a bit more brown than hers (very likely because I used unbleached sugar), but they're absolutely delicious, not too sweet, and the crumb texture on the top is a lovely contrast to the soft, light muffin.


Dream Blueberry Muffins from Cooking Classy

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
7 tablespoon vegetable oil* (measure 1/2 cup and remove 1 tablespoon)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries


Crumb Topping

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoon chilled butter, diced
1 1/2 tablespoon Raw sugar

Make the topping first. In a food processor, combine the flour, white sugar, and chilled butter. Pulse to combine. It should be fluffy. If you over-pulse, it will become dense. Keep it fluffy! Pour into a small bowl and whisk in the raw sugar. (Jaclyn makes a point that it must be RAW sugar.) Set aside.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, oil, egg and sour cream. Whisk together for about one minute.

Can you see the air in the batter?

Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, taking care not to over-mix. It will be a little bit lumpy. Fold the blueberries in with a spatula. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners and divide the batter evenly. They will fill to the very top.


Let the muffins rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400.

After 10 minutes, sprinkle the topping over the muffins. Bake for 19-23 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. They should be light golden.


Cool a few minutes in the muffin tin before moving to a rack to cool.




11 comments:

  1. Happy anniversary MLK! I'm so glad to be on the team. (and I love blueberry muffins:)

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    1. We're so glad to have you on the team, Lucy! And you will love these blueberry muffins. My mom, who is getting pretty picky, declared them dee-licious!

      ~Krista

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  2. Happy Anniversary!!! I start my day reading MLK, a great beginning to any day. I have been introduced to many wonderful recipes; and so many wonderful books. Not good for my waistline or my pocketbook...but I love every minute. Thank you all for sharing with us.

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    1. Thank you, Sharon! We love starting your day. : ) Cooking for MLK isn't great for my waistline, either, but it's tasty and so much fun!

      ~Krista

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  3. First of all, congratulations on your four year anniversary. I love the site.

    My favorite blueberry (and other muffin) recipes all use sour cream for moistness. I make a corn bread (and muffins) with the sour cream too and it is out of this world delicious. And I make the sweeter version so it is like cake. Ummm.

    Thank you for the nice blogs; after being a food writer for a number of years, anything regarding food and including recipes is my kind of reading material. :)

    Sincerely,
    Cynthia

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Cynthia. OMG! You were a food writer? What fun! I think sour cream and buttermilk make a huge difference in muffin recipes. I'd love to make your corn bread (muffin) recipe! If you want, you could send it to me at Krista at kristadavis dot com. Hint, hint!

      ~Krista

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  4. I marvel out how you have managed to write and cook for 4 years! ("you" being meant in the plural) Well done and many thanks!

    Blueberries, a crumb topping, and hand size? Perfection.

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    1. Libby, these muffins truly are wonderful. I think everyone here will agree that writing and cooking (remember we have recipes in our books, too) can be a bit much sometimes. But we really love this blog and our readers, like you!

      ~Krista

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  5. Oh, yum, yum, yum. I love blueberry muffins. Can't wait to taste these! I love finding recipes from colleagues on the internet. We're all in search of good food!

    Hugs,

    Daryl / Avery

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    1. And Jaclyn really nailed this recipe. They are my official go-to blueberry muffins now!

      ~Krista

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  6. Happy Anniversary, MLK! I'm lifting my glass to you, Krista, and the rest of our fellow crime-writing cooks: Daryl/Avery, Roberta/Lucy, Sheila, Peg, and Victoria/MJ. Huzzah! Four years and counting! And speaking of counting...

    I am loving the stat counter in our left column. We are always so crazy busy that I don't think any of us noticed the day we hit 1 million page views. We'll have to wait for 2 million and really do it up right (champagne and perfect blueberry muffins, anyone)?

    Cheers to us and especially our readers and followers!
    ~ Cleo

    ReplyDelete