Best Ever Blueberry Muffins

I have a confession to share with everyone - when I learned this month's Crazy Cooking Challenge was Blueberry Muffins, I knew the exact recipe I wanted to make, Best Ever Blueberry Muffins by Mary Hunt (creator of Everyday Cheapskate).  There was only one problem, I couldn't find one single blog that featured the recipe.  I did, however, find a great little blog called Richelderfers Recipes that featured several other recipes by Mary Hunt, so I contacted Sarah and asked if she would consider doing a blog post featuring this recipe.  She quickly agreed and featured these muffins not long after.  I'm thrilled to be able to share the recipe with you - they're the best blueberry muffins I've ever had.  (Thanks a million Sarah!!)

Best Ever Blueberry Muffins

makes 12-16 muffins

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Muffins:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup milk

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh, canned, or frozen)

Topping:

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (I like to use sanding sugar)

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (cinnamon works well too)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan (this is my favorite) by spraying well with baking spray or line each cup with a foil liner (not paper - paper will stick terribly).

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

3. Using a fork, mash 1/2 cup of blueberries; set aside.

4. In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and nutmeg; set aside.

5. Using a hand mixer, cream butter and 1 cup sugar together in a medium bowl until creamy and light in color; add eggs, vanilla, and 1/2 cup of mashed blueberries.

6. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture; mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

7. Add 1/2 of the milk and mix just until combined.

8. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk.

9. Fold in the remaining 2 cups of whole blueberries.

10. Portion batter evenly into muffin cups and sprinkle with sugar/nutmeg topping.

11. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Notes

• I've never made this recipe using canned blueberries, but I've made it many times using frozen blueberries.

• This recipe works equally well with as little 1 1/2 cups of blueberries.

• For the topping, I sometimes substitute cinnamon for the nutmeg.

• I also like to sprinkle vanilla sugar on top of the muffins.

• Batter makes nice mini bread loaves too.

Mary's Note:  Mary says you can freeze the muffins for up to two months before baking - portion the batter into foil-lined muffin pan and place in the freezer until the batter is firm, then pop the frozen muffins out of the pan and store in a freezer-safe container.  When you want freshly baked muffins, simply pop the frozen batter-filled foil cups back into a muffin pan and bake as directed; adding 5-6 minutes to the total baking time.

adapted from Everyday Cheapskate by Mary Hunt

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