Blueberriest Muffins

You are looking at The Best Blueberry Muffins as described by Cook’s Illustrated. When it comes to the geniuses at Cooks Illustrated I am not one to say they are wrong…however, I wanted to see for myself! 😉 I was holding on to this recipe to try closer to summertime, but I was so excited when I went to the grocery store over the weekend and found a big container of blueberries for only $2!! It was a sight that I only usually see during the summer months so of course I just had to buy them! When I pulled these babies out of the oven they just looked amazing, like something you would see at coffee shop. Plump blueberries were just bursting out of these moist muffins. The sugar and lemon zest topping sprinkled on top of these muffins were excellent. Just the perfect amount of crunch! Up until I tried this recipe I believed that these were the best blueberry muffins I had ever made. Even if you don’t take my word for it, believe the folks at Cooks Illustrated-these are the best blueberry muffins! 🙂

Blueberriest Muffins

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Lemon-Sugar Topping:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon

Muffins:

• 2 cups fresh blueberries, divided
• 1 1/8 cups plus 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. For the topping: In a small bowl, stir together sugar and lemon zest; set aside.
2. For the muffins: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer. Cook, mashing berries with spoon and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs until thick, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, gently fold egg mixture and remaining 1 cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened (do not overmix.)
6. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon 1 teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using a toothpick, gently swirl berry filling into batter. Sprinkle lemon sugar topping evenly over muffins.
7. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Source: The Bitten Word