Blueberry & Cornmeal Muffins
Honestly, I feel like this one is kind of self-explanatory, wouldn’t you say? Who doesn’t love a blueberry muffin? And while I certainly do and usually don’t think they need to change a thing to get any better, sometimes it nice to have a little fun and a throw a new ingredient into the mix. There’s just enough cornmeal added in to give a little flavor and texture, but not so much that they’re yelling “I’m actually a corn muffin!” at you.
Makes 12 XL muffins or 16 regular
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Active time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups (300g) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (35g) cornmeal, medium grind
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (110g) sour cream
1/4 cup (60g) milk (preferably whole but others work as well)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (210g) granulated sugar
3 eggs, large
2 cups (1 pint {16 oz} container) fresh blueberries
turbinado or granulated sugar for topping
Method
Whisk 2 1/4 cups (300g) flour, 1/4 cup (35g) cornmeal, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/4 baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Whisk 1/2 cup (110g) sour cream, 1/4 cup (60g) milk, and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.
Place 10 tablespoons (142g) butter and 1 cup (210g) sugar in bowl of an electric mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment on medium low until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Lower speed and add the 3 eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next.
On low speed, add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating each addition with one half of the sour cream mixture between each third. (Essentially flour, sour cream, flour, sour cream, flour). Along with the third and final flour addition, add 2 cups (1 pint) blueberries and mix until just combined. Use a large spatula to give a few final mixes, making sure all is fully incorporated.
Rest batter in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. While the batter is resting, preheat the oven to 425F. Line muffin tin with liners (see note).
Once the batter has rested, without stirring, use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, place 2 scoops into each muffin tin. Each space will be filled just about to the top, but not to worry, they won’t overflow while baking. Sprinkle each top with a little turbinado or granulated sugar.
Bake for 7 minutes at 425F, then without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 350F for an additional 20 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown (see notes. It can be hard to test for doneness with a cake tester or skewer because of the blueberries, but if you can manage to get around them, it should come out with no cake crumbs.
Allow to cool in tin for abut 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Notes
While fresh blueberries are preferred, frozen blueberries can used in a pinch. Do not thaw before adding to the batter. You may need to add a few more minutes to the baking time, as they hold more moisture than fresh. This will allow the extra moisture to evaporate and the muffin batter to fully bake through.
For making muffins at home, I like to use the large tulip style liners. They allow you to bake a larger muffin, which feels a little more substantial like a muffin from a bakery. You can order them on Amazon or Michaels or find them in a specialty culinary shop if you happen to have one near you. If you want to use regular liners for smaller muffins, fill the tins about ¾ of the way full and bake for 5 minutes at 425F and then 15-18 minutes at 350F.
I recommend spacing the muffins in every other tin and baking in two rounds (assuming you only have one muffin tins). I find that giving each muffin a little more space and not crowding them in allows them to puff up more and bake evenly.
While resting the dough isn’t absolutely necessary, it is such an important step in creating that puffed up, rounded top. If you’re in a pinch for time, the muffins will still turn out great without a rest. Otherwise, I would highly recommend not skipping this step. First, it gives the flour and cornmeal time to really hydrate, which leads to better structure and texture once baked. Second, it also gives the acid in the sour cream some additional time to break down the proteins in the flour. That breakdown promotes tenderness. And third, the chemical leaveners (baking powder and baking soda, and yes that’s what they’re called) will start reacting and creating some bubbles and puffiness in the batter, which is why you don’t want to stir it before scooping.
Turbinado is simply a coarser grind unrefined cane sugar (essentially “Sugar in the Raw”). There is some residual molasses, which gives it a light brown color. The taste is similar to a very mild brown sugar, but what you’re really after here is the texture. The large crystals not fully melt and absorb into the batter when baked on top of the muffin which gives it such a satisfying, sweet crunch. I like to keep a bag on hand to sprinkle on top of muffins or loaf cakes or to roll logs of slice and bake cookies. But if you don’t have any and don’t really want to buy one more specialty ingredient (who can blame you!), granulated sugar will work just fine. You won’t get *quite* as pronounced of a crunch, but honestly these muffins have so much more to offer.