Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:
Lemon-Sugar Topping
1/4 cup (21/3 ounces) granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon
Muffins
2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries
1 1/8 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups (12½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted (allow to cool for about 5 minutes)
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk*
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
*Whenever recipes call for buttermilk, I use plain yogurt and milk. For this recipe, use 3/4 cup yogurt with 1/4 cup milk. Use vanilla yogurt for an extra burst of vanilla flavor. You can also use 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon of milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Allow this mixture to stand for five minutes before use.
1. Make the topping: Stir the sugar and zest together with a fork in a small bowl; set aside.
2. On to the muffins: MAke sure the oven rack is in the middle or upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Place muffin paper baking cups in a muffin tin or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup of blueberries and 1 teaspoon of sugar to simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with a spoon (not wooden!) several times and stirring often, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup (about 6 minutes). Cool in a small bowl for 10-15 minutes.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Gradually whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using a big rubber spatula, fold the egg mixture and remaining cup of blueberries into the flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix. However, be sure to mix in any flour pockets that form.)
4. Use a large spoon or small measuring cup to scoop batter into muffin tins (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon about one teaspoon of cooked berry sauce into the center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, swirl the sauce into batter using figure-eight motion (or frankly, whatever motion works for you). Sprinkle the lemon sugar evenly over the muffins.
5. Bake until the muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating the muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy your delicious muffins!
This recipe was tweaked based on a Cook's Illustrated recipe.
