AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN: BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

This has become my new favorite blueberry muffin recipe.  America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) has refined the classic recipe and brought it to new heights.  Cooking down some of the blueberries into a jam and then swirling that into the batter with more blueberries makes for an intense blueberry flavor.  But that’s not the whole story.  The muffin itself is tender, delicate, flavorful and just sweet enough.   And ATK has added a crispy lemon-sugar topping that delivers the final knockout blow.  No exotic flavors here – just simple ingredients that blend beautifully to highlight the blueberries.  This is one great muffin recipe and you can be sure I’ll be making it often. 

Best Blueberry Muffins Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Rating:  10 out of 10 PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS: Blueberry Jam: 1-1/4 cup blueberries 2 tsp. sugar (ATK calls for 1 cup blueberries + 1 tsp. sugar, but I had too much batter for just one standard tin.  Because I added the mini tin, I needed more jam.) Lemon-Sugar Topping: 1/2 cup sugar 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (ATK calls for 1/3 cup sugar+ 1-1/2 tsp. lemon zest, but, again, I needed just a bit more.) Muffin: 2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. sea salt 2 large eggs 1-1/8 cups (8 oz.) sugar 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup nonfat Smart Balance milk + 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar) 1-1/3 cup fresh blueberries (I increased the blueberries by 1/3 cup.) Make the jam:  Combine berries and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat.  Break berries with spoon and cook down to 1/4 cup.  Let cool. Make the topping:  Mix sugar and zest together in small bowl.  (I used my mini blender.)  Set aside. Make the Muffin:  Heat oven to 425F (400F for dark or coated pans).  Set baking rack to upper middle of oven.  Grease two muffin tins:  one standard and one mini, each holding 12 muffins.  Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in large bowl.  Set aside. In a  small bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar till light, about 45 seconds.  In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, oil,vanilla, and buttermilk.  Add egg mixture and continue to whisk till well combined.  Fold wet mixture into flour mixture with a spoon or spatula.  Mix lightly and leave the batter slightly lumpy.  Divide batter evenly among tins.  (ATK folds the blueberries into  the batter.  You can  choose to do this, but I found that some muffins got very little and others got a lot of blueberries.)  Divide the blueberries evenly among the muffins, pressing them down with your fingers.  Spoon about 1 tsp. of jam onto tops of standard muffins, and use the rest for the minis.  Swirl the jam into the muffins using a skewer or chopstick and a figure eight motion.    Sprinkle each muffin with some of the lemon-sugar mixture.  Place muffin tins in oven on center rack; close door; reduce oven temperature to 325F. Bake minis 10-13 minutes (they won’t brown).  Bake standards 16-19 minutes, or till tops are set and toothpick inserted near center returns with just a few crumbs.  Cool in pan 5 minutes before transferring to rack to finish cooling.  Yield:  12 standard + 12 mini muffins