Lately, I’ve been craving my old fav, the blueberry muffin. Specifically, Martha’s blueberry muffins. I made it often when I was a stay at home in Chicago. It is a cross between a breakfast bread, and dessert. I haven’t made it in a long time, and was feeling a bit rusty.
I had every intention of using fresh blueberries since they’re in season, but for reasons unknown, I ended up with frozen instead. Normally this is fine, but it can be a little tricky when folding blueberries into the batter, as the berries can bleed and turn your batter a more grayish color. I rinsed them as well as I could, and folded them into the batter. Martha’s blueberry muffins turned out well even though I got the crumble topping all wrong. When I saw the crumb topping the bowl, it seemed like way too much for twelve little muffins, so I sprinkled it on conservatively. When I took them the out of the oven, I realized I should’ve listened to Martha. Despite my topping set back, this was still a very satisfying and tasty muffin that is great with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning.
Martha’s Blueberry Muffins
for the crumb topping:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed light-brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
for the blueberry muffins:
- 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons 3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus more for tin
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large whole egg plus 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- Granulated sugar and mace (for topping (optional))
for the crumb topping, if desired:
- Whisk together flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Pour in melted butter and toss with a flexible spatula until large crumbs form.
for the muffins:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
- With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream butter and granulated sugar until fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined. Reduce speed to low; alternate adding reserved flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Gently fold in berries by hand.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared cups; if desired, sprinkle generously with granulated sugar and mace. Alternatively, sprinkle crumb topping evenly over batter in each cup.
- Bake until light golden on top, rotating tins halfway through, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes before turning out muffins. Serve warm or at room temperature.
