Blueberry Muffins Upgrade

For as long as I can recall the Jordan Marsh blueberry muffin has been the reigning champion of great blueberry muffins. I’ve even had the original, and it was damn good, so good that when my daughter asked me to make blueberry muffins for her crew team that was the recipe I turned to, or tried to. I found a few, each claiming to be the original so I chose one that used milk rather than buttermilk because that’s what I had in the house. What clearly makes these muffins so good is the amount of blueberries. The ratio of blueberry to batter is so unexpected that until I added them I doubted I’d have enough for the promised dozen muffins. The batter is really just there to hold the blueberries together which turns out to be just fine.

I love blueberries, and in particular wild blueberries. If you are accustomed to cultivated blueberries (which are usually what you get when you buy fresh blueberries) you’ll find wild blueberries are exponentially better. I started using wild blueberries back when I had my diner. I would get them in a 20 lb. box, of loose blueberries, and I got hooked. Now I get them at Whole Foods Market, or Costco. I like Wyman’s, but if they’re not available I’ve used other brands and been happy with them. That’s what went into our muffins.

As you may know I like lemon with anything blueberry, so I added some lemon extract and lemon zest to the recipe. Lemon brightens anything up, but lemon and blueberry need each other, and make each other better, and they put these muffins over the top delicious! There are a few ways to add blueberries to muffins, and if you don’t want blue muffins (I did) especially if you’re using frozen blueberries, don’t add them to the batter, and skip the step when you mash some. Add them to the individual muffin cups with the batter. I do not have the patience for that, so I have learned to love blue muffins. (When I make blueberry pancakes I do add them to each pancake after I pour the batter.) 

These muffins get topped with regular, granulated sugar and that adds a nice crunch. I was tempted to use sanding sugar, but I read an admonition in one of the recipes that it was not cool, so I used regular sugar with no regrets.

These are muffins, but you could frost them with some cream cheese or lemon frosting and have a pretty awesome cupcake! The recipe would also make a nice loaf cake with a lemon glaze. As I write this I regret that I am out of blueberries because these all sound like something I’d like this afternoon with some iced tea.

Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins updates

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Serves	12
Prep time	1 hour
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	1 hour, 30 minutes
From magazine	Yankee Magazine

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar (Plus 2 TBL)
• 2 Large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups frozen wild blueberries (allowed to thaw and drain for one hour)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 lemon zested

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375F In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Step 2

In another bowl, combine all dry ingredients, use a whisk to mix well

Step 3

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and the 1/2 cup sugar mixture along with the milk and extracts

Step 4

Mash 1/2 cup of the blueberries, and stir in by hand (this will turn batter a light shade of blue and add a touch of blueberry flavor). Mix zest with the remaining whole berries and stir in gently by hand.

Step 5

Grease and flour 12 muffin tins, or line with baking cups After cups are filled, use the remaining 2 TBL of sugar to sprinkle on top of each muffin

Step 6

Bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin after several minutes to free it from the pan and cool on wire racks. Muffins may be brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar, if desired.

Step 7

Bake for 25-30 minutes Let cool on a rack, in pan You will want to eat them immediately, but let them cool at least 5 minutes!