Saturday, February 16, 2008

Moist and Light Blueberry Muffins


What can I make for a Saturday morning breakfast when there is only one lonely egg in the house? Blueberry muffins! These are my most favorite muffins- not too dense, not too sweet and full of fresh plump blueberries. I used almost all the eggs last night for the dogs dinner- yes, I cook for my babies every night. After the dog food scare last year, I just felt uneasy feeding them the store bought stuff. Since then, both the goldens have just blossomed, all the paw licking stopped (usually caused by allergies), their coats are shinnier and all around they seem more energetic and happy. I read up on all the do's and don'ts about dog food and have not looked back since.

Back to the muffins. I use cake flour because I find it makes the muffins lighter. I gave both the weight and measurement for the flour, if you have a scale use it- I find when measuring flour specially, it is essential. I have a small inexpensive one ($30 or less), it is the most used tool in my kitchen when I bake. The scale converts grams into ounces, which comes in quite handy when I make recipes found in European cookbooks or web sites. I coat the blueberries in a little (about a tablespoon) of flour mixture before adding them to the batter, I find that step keeps them all from sinking to the bottom.

When making muffins, do not overbeat the batter, I whisk the ingredients together separately then combine them and stir just a few times to incorporate the dry and wet ingredients together. After adding the dry ingredients to the flour, use a wooden spoon not a whisk to stir together briefly. Finish combining the ingredients once the blueberries are added- and I know I will sound a little nutty by telling you this, but you should not stir more than 15-20 strokes; it is more like folding than beating and doing this will keep the muffins light and moist. I use a topping of large sugar crystals, this makes the tops of the muffins a little crunchy. When I have it, I use vanilla infused sugar (see photo). I have also used regular sugar which has been infused with vanilla. To make vanilla sugar, fill a jar with sugar, insert a vanilla pod and let it infuse for at least a week; it's great for sweetening coffee too.



Blueberry Muffins

12-1/2 ounces cake flour (3 cups)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup sour cream (can be substituted with yogurt)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups blueberries, (1 pint)
1/4 cup vanilla sugar for sprinkling tops
paper liners or buttered muffin tins

Makes 18 muffins

Preheat oven to 350 F

1. Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl and set aside. In a small bowl toss blueberries with about 1 tablespoon of flour mixture and set aside.

2. Whisk all wet ingredients together and mix well.

3. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until just barely combined. add blueberries and mix lightly. Do not over mix.

4. With an ice cream scoop fill muffin pan almost all the way to the top. top with sugar generously and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove muffins from pan as soon as they are cool enough to handle. They will keep for 3-4 days covered at room temperature.

18 comments:

  1. That's a nice explanation of how to make a light and airy muffin, thanks. You can't underestimate the importance of a good muffin. I hate those dense, heavy things. I'll give this a whirl, it's my boyfriend's favorite muffin flavor.

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  2. These look delicious. I'd love to try them with dried cranberries, or even dried blueberries.

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  3. Beautiful colour and crust.
    Great job.

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  4. I just picked up some blueberries and these muffins look like the perfect use for them!

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  5. Making & eating these blueberry muffins would rescue from the 'winter blahs'---definitely will!

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  6. Looks like the perfect treat for a weekend. I'm going to have to try them. Thanks

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  7. I'm with you on the doggies! We are now using human grade food that you rehydrate from a company called honest kitchen - and then I supplement it with protein (sardines, tuna, salmon, chicken, turkey, egg) and other goodies. I admire that you do the whole thing from scratch!

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  8. I made this with dried blueberries, and it turned out great! I used a whole package and soaked them in juice first. We made mini muffins, so we didn't cook them as long. Very yummy!

    Next time I'll try cranberries.

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  9. I tried this recipe using Vanilla yogurt instead of sour cream, and it was the best batch of homemade blueberry muffins i have ever made. Definitely try this recipe!

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  10. I am definitely going to try the blueberry muffins but what really spiked my interest was your comment about cooking for your dogs. We also have a golden who has chronic skin allergies and we have tried everything..special dog foods,allergy shots,brewers yeasts etc. He unfortunately requires regular cortisone injections to give him relief. I really don't want to continue this treatment and would love to know what you feed your dogs. I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks!

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  11. Thanks for the tip about using sour cream or yogurt – I've done that for cake but never thought about using it in muffins. Sure adds extra moistness. I also wasn't familiar with vanilla sugar until you mentioned it. These turned out awesome – my wife and daughter loved them!

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  12. these muffins are delicious,light & fluffy. i made them this morning before sending my daughter off to school. i used 1/2c sour cream & 1/2c whole milk maple yogurt(european style)because that's what i had. also i like to use 1/2 brown sugar instead of all white sugar. and just sprinkled a little brown sug on top of each muffin before baking. thanks for the recipe!! my girls loved them and me, too!!! March 28, 2007

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  13. Hello, I tried this recipe but because I am terrible at baking I don't know what to expect. You see when the wet and dry are incorporated, i get this pretty dry mixture almost crumbly. I had it in my head that one would get a flowy thick-ish liquid. Is what I am getting the right consistency? How long do you have to mix the liquid, just give it a good mix until fully mixed. I don't have to beat it till death yeah? The crust is good but my muffin is heavy I feel. Help would be good. I'd love a good muffin.

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  14. hi, it's me again. :) I think I know what went wrong... 12.5 ounce is around 1.5 cups and not 3 cups. Still can you advise. I work in cups... yes.

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  15. Just discovered this recipe and have made it three times in the past three weeks. My family loves it! I appreciate the comment about the 1 1/2 c vs 3 c flour - I was simply adding an extra egg and 1/4 c more sour cream and using the 3 c flour. That way you get lovely large muffins which the family devours in minutes. Delish!

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  16. I love your idea to sprinkle the extra sugar on top. That makes the sweet flavor hit your mouth instantly as you take a bit. Mmm.

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  17. I weigh my flour instead of going by cups when I bake. If I wish to use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour to make muffins, do I substitute 1:1 per weight?

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  18. This is the best recipe for light blueberry muffing I have come across. It works just as well for other berries in place of blueberries too.

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