Blueberry muffins really have not been my favorite muffin variety. Nothing against them, but I usually would rather eat a more exciting muffin.... Actually, raisin bran muffins are typically my favorite. Or pumpkin. And most often, I’d rather eat a scone than a muffin. But I recently developed a craving for muffins. Specifically, blueberry muffins.
Blueberries themselves are one of my very favorite fruits. I’ll sit and eat an entire container of them until they’re gone--perfect summertime meal or snack. Most often, fresh blueberries get eaten before they can be used in baked goods. But when I saw blueberries on a fantastic sale at the grocery store, I bought two packages: one for eating and one for muffins.
On my birthday last year, I made confetti cake waffles for breakfast. While they were amazingly delicious, they also were so rich that the practically put me into a sugar coma for the rest of the day. This year, instead, I decided to satisfy the craving and make blueberry muffins.
I found found an intriguing recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks (which shall remain nameless). I was very interested in the recipe because it included a good amount of pecan flour (and I just happened to have pecan flour in the freezer).
I gathered the necessary ingredients (mis-en-place) and mixed the batter. It seemed quite a bit thicker than I thought a muffin recipe should be. I double checked the ingredients & no, I hadn’t forgotten anything or mis-measured. So, I added a splash more milk. I portioned the the still-thick-batter into the lined muffin pan. I baked the muffins.
When I pulled them from the oven, I could immediately tell there was a flaw in the recipe. The muffins failed to spread or puff at all. They looked pretty terrible & they didn’t taste great either. Fail. Even sadder, birthday fail :( And, I was STILL craving blueberry muffins!
Since then, I’ve searched through many additional recipes, searching for the perfect “redemption muffin” recipe. And I think I’ve found it. A slightly sweet, slightly caky muffin, bursting with blueberries. The flavor and fragrance from the addition of almond extract is a lovely touch too.
The original recipe includes an almond streusel topping, but I didn’t have enough butter on hand to make it. Honestly, I didn’t miss the streusel one bit! Shock--usually I’m a huge streusel fan! The muffin was delicious without it. Blueberry muffin redemption has been found! I may have eaten three of them for breakfast that day....
Blueberry Muffins (adapted to be gluten free)
adapted from Williams Sonoma Taste
Yields 9 muffins
157 g Gluten Free Flour (I used my favorite blend; or if you’re not GF, use regular AP flour)
78 g Granulated Sugar
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Fine Grain Sea Salt
pinch Nutmeg, freshly grated
4 fl oz Buttermilk
1 ea Eggs
38 g Unsalted Butter, melted & slightly cooled
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
scant 1/4 tsp Almond Extract
110 g Blueberries, fresh (plus a little extra, if desired)
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a muffin pan with 9 papers. Optional: lightly spray the bottoms of the liners with non-stick spray.
- If not already done, heat the butter in the microwave until just barely melted. Set aside to cool slightly while gathering the remaining ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Measure the buttermilk into a liquid measuring cup. To that cup, add the egg, butter, & extract. Gently whisk to combine.
- Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. Stir half-way and add the blueberries. Very gently stir until combined, trying not to smash the blueberries in the progress.
- Use a portion scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. If you notice the bottom of the batter is low on blueberries, throw in a few extras
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin (and not into a blueberry) comes out almost clean with just a few crumbs sticking to it.
- Cool slightly and serve. Store any cooled leftovers in an airtight container for a day, or in the refrigerator for several days (due to the fruit content).
Note: You can substitute frozen blueberries for the fresh ones. Just add them to the batter frozen (even frozen they may dye the batter a bit blue) and increase the baking time by a few minutes.
