Still on the quest for the perfect blueberry muffin, this is attempt number IV.... It is very promising! (Here are attempts I, II, and III.) This recipe is very similar to the Maine Blueberry Muffins recipe in II. That recipe was published in Redbook in 1988, one year after this one.
Compared to the Maine Blueberry Muffins, this recipe uses more blueberries, a little more sugar (which I wanted in the other), buttermilk instead of plain milk (with corresponding baking soda), the addition of vanilla, and slightly more butter. Curiously, though baked at the same temperature, these are in the oven considerably longer, which did not produce a desirable result.
As with the Maine Blueberry Muffins, I made half the recipe. For 6 muffins, here's what I used:
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons fresh blueberries
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (or plain yogurt)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Heat
oven to 400F. Grease 6 muffin tins. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. In a small dish, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and melted butter. Pour this mixture all at once into the dry ingredients. Quickly stir just to partially blend; add the blueberries. Carefully fold together just to moisten; the batter will be stiff and lumpy. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins; the cups will be full. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack. Or, if not using paper liners, tilt each muffin in its tin. Serve warm.
The batter was very thick and rose nicely. I did watch my oven temperature, but I think it was hotter than it was registering because they still seemed overbaked. I took the muffins out of the oven a little shy of 25 minutes, but they were quite brown and a little tough on the exterior. Otherwise, the texture was nice. Since there's no benefit to a browned crust on these muffins, I'll use the silicone liners next time and/or reduce the oven temperature. Then again, based on the other recipe, perhaps they just needed less time in the oven.
I made these with salted butter, then threw in another pinch, but they could have used a little more. (Looking at the Maine recipe, I should just use salted butter and the full salt amount.)
Conclusion: This might be... the one! I always liked the Maine Blueberry Muffin recipe, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. This one comes much closer, although I might try adding a little oil to make them a little more moist. Also, if possible, I think I could squeeze a little more batter into the tins to produce 5 larger muffins! I'd like that, as long as they rose up and not out.
Recipe: Blueberry Muffins via Jim Fobel's Old-Fashioned Baking Book: Recipes from an American Childhood
