Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry muffins are the quintessential breakfast treat, so here I’ve channeled that small-town-bakery vibe to create my all-time favorite muffin: light, fluffy, and absolutely bursting with blueberries. These muffins are sure to delight anyone who tries them. Read on for all my tips for making them the best they can be.

What People Are Saying:
"Without a doubt the best blueberry muffin I've had. I LOVE the crunchy sugared top. And sinking my teeth into that really plush cake-like muffin was really like... wow." - FrankiZ

"These muffins are simply BEYOND.... MAKE THESE IMMEDIATELY." - jsa1599

How To Make Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• Cooking Spray: After much testing, I found I preferred muffins baked in an unlined tin sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Yes, you might encounter some degree of sticking—usually from the burst blueberries—but that’s a small inconvenience considering what you gain: muffins with beautifully caramelized, incredibly tasty edges.
• All-Purpose Flour: The backbone of any muffin recipe, all-purpose flour strikes the right balance between structure and tenderness.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda: I use two leaveners to achieve a better rise and a lighter texture. The baking soda reacts with (and neutralizes) the acid in the sour cream, giving the batter its initial lift; it also aids browning. The baking powder takes over from there: Its leavening powers go into hyperdrive after the batter hits the oven.
• Unsalted Butter: Most muffin recipes rely on vegetable oil or melted butter, but I went with butter because flavor (obvs!) and because I had a hunch that creaming the butter and sugar would yield a lighter, cakier muffin (it did!).
• Granulated Sugar: When creamed with the butter, the granulated sugar produces tons of tiny air pockets, which expand when heated, giving the muffins that extra bit of rise.
• Light Brown Sugar: Helps keep the muffins moist and gives them some rich, caramelly flavor.
• Eggs: Eggs contribute networks of coagulating proteins that trap the gases generated by the leaveners, so the muffins bake up light and fluffy.
• Sour Cream: Sour cream gives the muffins a moist, tender crumb and a subtle tang that I love.
• Milk: I use whole milk to thin out the sour cream, so the batter is the perfect consistency.
• Blueberries: I prefer to use fresh blueberries for this recipe, but you can totally use frozen. Just be sure to add them straight from the freezer; letting them thaw first will turn the batter into a watery mess and give it an unappetizing color.
• Sparkling Sugar: Totally optional but highly recommended. Sprinkling sparkling this coarse sugar over the muffins just before baking makes for a gorgeous, crunchy top that makes them truly bakery-worthy.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Two things you’ll want to get out of the way first: Preheat your oven to 425° and grease the cups of a standard muffin pan with cooking spray. Okay, now get to work on the batter. Grab a medium bowl and a whisk and mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.

For the wet ingredients, you’ll need a handheld mixer and a large bowl. You’ll also want to make sure your butter is room temperature: firm but pliable, soft enough to dent with your finger but in no way greasy or melted. With the mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy; this step is known as “creaming” and is intended to incorporate air for a lighter, more tender crumb. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated each addition. Add the sour cream, milk, and vanilla and beat until the mixture is smooth.

Now grab a rubber spatula: It’s time to introduce the dry ingredients to the wet. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and fold in until just a few streaks of dry flour remain; you don’t want to overwork the batter. Add 1 3/4 cups blueberries and gently fold until evenly distributed.

Let’s get this batter into the muffin pan. I like to use a cookie scoop for this: It’s faster and cleaner than using two spoons and it ensures an even distribution of batter. Press the remaining blueberries into the top of each muffin-to-be, then sprinkle with sparkling sugar (about 1 tsp. per muffin).

Now that you’re ready and set, it’s time to bake! Bake the muffins for 8 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350° and continue to bake until the muffins are golden brown on top and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes more.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. To release the muffins from the cups, hold them by their tops and give a little twist. Failing that, gently run a butter knife or small offset spatula around the muffins to free them.

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Cream the butter and sugar: Creaming the butter and sugar with a handheld mixer is a technique more commonly used in cookies and cakes, where you are looking to incorporate air into a batter. I use it here because I wanted these muffins to have an extra-light, fine-textured, almost cakey crumb.
• Spray your pan: To line or not to line is one of the hottest debates in the muffin world. After extensive research (and a LOT of muffin-sampling), I found that I prefer spraying the wells of the pan with nonstick spray rather than lining them with muffin liners. Baking without liners allows the muffins to develop a gorgeous, caramelized crust on the bottom and sides, which adds tons of flavor and texture. I think you’ll agree it’s worth the extra 2 minutes it takes to clean the pan.
• Two oven temps beats one: Many muffin recipes call for baking at single oven temp, but I found that using two temps yielded the best results. By starting the muffins in a hot oven (425°) for exactly 8 minutes (set a timer!) and then dropping the temperature and allowing the muffins to finish baking at a moderate heat (350°), I was able to get them to rise taller (better ovenspring!) and take on a deeper golden brown color, all while remaining moist and fluffy inside.
• How to cool blueberry muffins: You're going to want to keep your timer handy once the muffins come out of the oven, too. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. Muffins that are allowed to cool completely in the muffin pan will get soggy and lose a lot of their crisp exterior and crunchy top. Because I chose to dispense with liners, you might need to use a butter knife or small offset spatula to help loosen the muffins from the tin, but once that’s done, you should be able to gently twist the muffins free and pop them right out.

Storage

If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for up to 1 week. If you want a grab-and-go breakfast you can rely on, you can also freeze the muffins for up to 1 month; thaw at room temperature overnight before eating.