Blueberry Muffins

Muffins are a good excuse to have cake for breakfast.

Let’s face it, muffins are really like cupcakes without frosting. I’d like to think that these muffins are a tad healthier than cupcakes since I’ve filled them with fruit, but in truth a lot of good cakes have fruit in them too. Since fruit is healthy I hereby deem that muffins are healthy for breakfast. Okay, probably not, but they sure are tasty. 😉

Muffins, being pre-portioned, are a great thing to bring for a crowd to eat. No need for silverware to eat them with or cutting tools for portioning them out. Just grab from the bag or the pan and munch away. For that very reason (and also because one of my sisters requested blueberry muffins), I made a batch of these to bring on our family trip to Lake George, NY. They were a big hit!

I have a variety of muffin recipes on my blog. While I do love all of the ones I’ve posted, I don’t feel that any one of them is a great “base” muffin recipe. I adore my light chocolate chip muffins but they require cake flour and I know that not everyone keeps that handy. I’ve been on the hunt for a recipe that not only tastes out of this world but also uses everyday ingredients.

I love the texture and taste of these blueberry muffins but I’m still not convinced it’s “the” base muffin recipe I’ve been looking for. My family didn’t leave a crumb behind so I’m very happy with them, but they just aren’t the one in my book. By the way, my husband says that these muffins look, taste, and have the texture of corn muffins. Neither of us is sure how that’s possible since they don’t have any cornmeal in them, but he’s entitled to his opinion I figure. Besides, if you really like corn muffins, maybe that’s exactly what you are looking for.

If you have an awesome muffin recipe, please share. Someday I’ll find the perfect muffin base and it might be yours. 🙂

Blueberry Muffins Recipe
(Makes about 18 standard sized muffins)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (equivalent to 1 stick)
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (equivalent to 10.8 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup milk (I used whole milk.)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 and 1/2 cups blueberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a standard size muffin tin and set it aside.
Melt the butter and set it aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set the dry ingredients aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, milk, vanilla extract, lemon juice, lemon zest, and eggs. These are the wet ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix everything together until just combined.
Pour in half of the blueberries and gently mix into the batter.
Fill each prepared muffin tin 3/4 of the way full with the batter.
Add a few of the remaining blueberries on top of the batter. (Some of them will sink but this technique will help prevent them all from sinking to bottom.)
Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes turn the oven down to 375 degrees (with the muffins still in the oven) and bake them for another 10-13 minutes or until a tester inserted comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before removing.