Who doesn’t love a muffin? Fragrant and steaming from the oven, a freshly baked muffin elevates eggs at breakfast to a literal feast. Muffins are a delicious match for the morning coffee break, and a quick and easy snack.
I really enjoy experimenting with different muffin recipes, trying various combinations of fruit, nuts and spices. Unlike their sibling the cupcake, a proper muffin should not be dense and sweet, but light, and full of flavor. When prepared with fruit and whole grains, muffins become a nutritional powerhouse, packed with antioxidants and fiber.
The key to a delicate and tasty muffin starts with the batter. Traditional muffin batters are a combination of flour, sugar, and baking powder. The “dry” ingredients are combined in a bowl, and the “wet” ingredients (milk, egg, butter or oil) are whisked together, then added to the flour mixture, and just barely combined. Over mixing until all the flour particles are absorbed by the liquid makes tough muffins.
The recipe for Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins utilizes buttermilk, a staple in the 20th century kitchen, and the natural byproduct of butter making. Our frugal ancestors always had a jar of buttermilk on the farm. They used buttermilk for baking, as a marinade and base for a salad dressing, even as an everyday beverage.
Commercial buttermilks available today are a cultured product, but I often find the real deal from Kate’s of Maine Butter Company. Tangy, not really sour, it may take time to appreciate the flavor of buttermilk. But in baking, in particular these muffins, it is definitely a star.
Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole meal flour (whole wheat)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup Melted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup Maine wild blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8 – cup muffin tin.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder & baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, melted butter and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring just to combine. Fold in the Maine wild blueberries. Spoon into the muffin tin and bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Yield: 8 muffins