Blueberry Muffins

Blueberries are easily one of the most revered foods in my house (along with tomatoes, avocados and chocolate chips). Thanks to my "connections" in the Michigan blueberry industry, it's not unusual to find a 10 lb. box of blueberries in our refrigerator... and it lasts a week, TOPS. The only thing that bad about blueberry season is that it's a fleeting bliss. Though they are great candidates for freezing, nothing starts or ends my day better than a big handful of fresh blueberries in a bowl of cereal or ice cream (either of them any time of day in my world).

This recipe originates from Cooks Illustrated magazine. Not only are their recipes usually spot on, they offer tons of tips, great and small, to lock up in your brain for future cooking. The key in this recipe is the flavor of both fresh and cooked blueberries. The crunchy lemon-sugar topping sure doesn't hurt either. You can't argue with these results--the muffins are tender, flavorful and, well, they end up looking pretty awesome, too. As usual, I modified this one just a bit to include some whole-wheat flour. One of those Cooks Illustrated tips is to add 2 tablespoons of liquid for every 1 cup of whole-wheat flour substituted.

With all that in mind... enjoy Cooks Illustrated's "Best Blueberry Muffins."

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated via The Bitten Word.

Makes 12-14 muffins.

Ingredients

Lemon-Sugar Topping

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

Muffins

2 cups fresh blueberries, picked over

1 1/8 cups plus 1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly 

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation 

1. For the topping, mix together the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or use liners. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with a spoon or fork several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 6 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Whisk flours, baking powder and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined.

4. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Do not over-mix; lumps and flour spots are okay.)

5. Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to completely fill muffin cups. Spoon a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter and gently swirl using a chopstick, skewer or toothpick. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.

6. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.