Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins

I can’t remember exactly when my family’s obsession with blueberry muffins started, but it’s deeply ingrained in our collective family subconscious. Case in point, my stepdaughter named our two cats Blueberry and Muffin. Here they are. That’s Blueberry in the foreground, and pretty princess Muffin in the background.

Blueberry’s not supposed to be on top of the kitchen table, but I had to take a picture before shooing him off. Isn’t he gorgeous?

Considering the names of our pets, I guess it’s only natural that we love blueberry muffins! The buttermilk really enhances the flavor of these wonderful muffins, giving them a richness and a slight tang that perfectly suits the sweet blueberries. I like to sprinkle the muffins with turbinado sugar on top, so they have a light candy-like shell with a soft and fluffy inside, bursting with berry goodness.

A few quick tips–

1) If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own by mixing 1/3 cup of milk and 1 tsp of cider vinegar. Mix well, and let the milk stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes till the buttermilk flavor develops.

2) Don’t overmix the muffin batter! These muffins have a wonderful light texture that can become dense if you mix the batter too much.

3) If you want to make these muffins pareve (dairy free), you can substitute almond, rice, or soy milk for the buttermilk… they’ll still be yummy, but I recommend using buttermilk if you can. It adds a delicious flavor.

4) If you only have access to frozen blueberries, go ahead and use them. Just toss them lightly in a little flour before mixing gently into the batter.

These muffins are so tasty. They’re just teeming with luscious, juicy berries. Enjoy!

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Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (12 oz.) fresh ripe blueberries (or sub frozen - see note)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Turbinado or coarse sugar for dusting

You will also need

  • Muffin/cupcake liners or nonstick cooking spray, regular muffin tin (12 muffin capacity), 2 mixing bowls, whisk
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 35 Minutes
Servings: 12 standard size muffins
Kosher Key: Dairy
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Pick through the blueberries and discard any over-ripe, very soft or mushy berries. Rinse the blueberries in a colander and drain well. Pat dry with a paper towel. Reserve.
  • In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  • In another mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla.
  • Mix wet ingredients into dry using as few stirs as possible; you want slightly lumpy batter, a few streaks of flour are fine. Do not over-mix.
  • Fold blueberries gently into the batter using as few strokes as possible.
  • Line a standard size muffin tin (12 muffins) with muffin/cupcake liners, or lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Fill each cup all the way to the top with batter. I find the easiest way to do this is by using an ice cream scoop. One generous scoop of batter will fill each muffin cup.
  • When the pan is filled with batter, sprinkle the top of each muffin lightly with turbinado or coarse sugar. This will add some sweet sparkle and texture to the top of each muffin.
  • Bake muffins for 10 minutes. Turn the muffin tin around (180 degrees) and continue to bake for 5-10 minutes more, or until the muffin tops are golden and springy to the touch. Start testing after 5 minutes, and take them out as soon as they turn springy... don't overcook them, or they'll become dry.
  • Let muffins cool for 15 minutes, then gently remove from the tin. Serve. Note: If you only have access to frozen blueberries, go ahead and use them. Just toss them lightly in a little flour before mixing gently into the batter.



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Category: Baked Goods and Brunch Fare, Dairy, Desserts, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Slide Show, Vegetarian

Comments (48)Post a Comment

  1. Denise says:

    Tory,
    The cats are lovely and so are the muffins. I have frozen blueberries could I substitute them?

  2. Love blueberry muffins! These seemed so easy too! Usually I am so intimidated with muffins..ha!

  3. Anita says:

    I needed an idea for something to bring to our break-the-fast. These are perfect! Thank you.
    May you have an easy fast and a good year!

    Anita

  4. Hannah says:

    Gorgeous blueberry muffins! I’m crazy about blueberry muffins…really, anything blueberry. These look perfect for a break fast! Wishing you an easy fast.

  5. Susie says:

    I love blueberry muffins and anything baked with buttermilk. YUM.

  6. Coco Galvez says:

    Yummm, I’m pretty sure my family will love these muffins, I’ll bake them for them, they look as beautiful as your cats and tell your stepdaughter that the names are adorably perfect. xo

  7. Kim Bee says:

    Being a huge cat lover I am wondering what breed Muffin and Blueberry are. Muffin looks like a Ragdoll. We have 3 of them.

    Okay on to the food. These look amazing. I love anything with buttermilk but I rarely have it on hand. It’s hard to find here for some reason. Sometimes they have it, sometimes they don’t. I am a blueberry muffin fan. My fave kind. Hope you are having a great week Tori!

    • The Shiksa says:

      Hey Kim! You are right, they are both ragdolls! Best cats ever, so cuddly and floppy. He’s a blue ragdoll, she’s a blue bi-color.

    • Kim Bee says:

      Hey Tori. I thought so. We have 3 now but we’ve had 5 over the years. I love them to pieces. So dog like and loyal. I love their personalities, well except the middle one Spike. He’s kind of a demon spawn! Have a great weekend and congrats on top 9 my dear. So well deserved and did a big “squee” when I saw you there.xx

  8. wonderful dlicious looking colourful muffins

  9. The muffins look delicious! And those cats have the prettiest eyes!

  10. Jamie says:

    I love Blueberries, and I love Buttermilk. Can’t wait to try these!

  11. Jen says:

    Beautiful blueberry muffins!

  12. Liz says:

    Oh man, these look so yummy. This may be slightly personal, but I’m curious, how does your family fast? Some people don’t eat anything except to drink water and some people fast off certain things meats or sweets. I still haven’t decided how much to fast this Yom Kippur, being in the first trimester with our second. Maybe I will just make a couple batches of these and fast off everything else!

    • The Shiksa says:

      Hi Liz, that’s a great question. The Yom Kippur fast is meant to be a full fast, meaning no food or liquid. However, if you have a special health issue (like pregnancy), you are not required to do a full fast– your health comes first. It’s best to consult with your doctor to see what kind of fast would be best for you, if any at all. If fasting is not recommended, then you might want to just give up something for the day to honor the restriction of Yom Kippur– like sweets, or caffeine. You could ask your rabbi to help you determine what is appropriate. Mazel tov on your pregnancy! What a wonderful way to start the new year. :)

  13. Ann says:

    Hi Tori! These are absolutely stunning! I love blueberry muffins – and the kitties! *sigh* I love kitties!

  14. they look scrumptious!

  15. Tanya says:

    Those look yummy!

  16. Your kitty is so gorgeous! And those muffins look perfect. Love the shots of them in progress.

  17. Lacy says:

    Cutest cat names ever! I love it! And these muffins look absolutely amazing!

  18. Blueberry has amazing color and eyes. From what I could tell, Muffin’s eyes are that fantastic blue as well. Wow.

    The muffins; gorgeous and delicious looking. I can see the moistness. They could very well be my favorite kind of muffin as well.

  19. These muffins are perfection, Tori! I love blueberry muffins and I like to eat them warm with some butter!!

  20. Oh my goodness..those muffins look mouthwatering! Love blueberry in them! Awesome pics too!!!

  21. a woman called Sam says:

    Hi,
    I have frozen farm raspberries, will these work?

    • The Shiksa says:

      Hi Sam, they should work, but the muffins will be more tart because raspberries have natural tartness. Fold them into the batter carefully so they don’t fall apart, and you might want to sprinkle extra turbinado/coarse sugar on top of the muffins to counteract the tartness of the berries.

  22. Kristy says:

    These would be a hit in our house as well! We love our blueberries! I like the addition of the turbinado sugar as well. And what beautiful cats! So majestic looking. :)

  23. These muffins look fantastic!

  24. PJ says:

    To make a healthier muffin, I used 1/2 of the flour as whole wheat flour and oat bran and walnuts. Of course, I off set that with the buttermilk.

  25. Alice K. says:

    Here in the northeast I don’t see blueberries in the markets this time of year. I’ll save this recipe for next spring when they appear in the stores. For now: is there another fruit you’d recommend or do you think those of us on the “other coast” should try frozen ones?

    • The Shiksa says:

      Hi Alice! Frozen will work fine, just toss them lightly in flour before you add to the batter. You can also use 1 1/2 cup of chopped strawberries, or try cranberries (use 1 1/4 cup of cranberries and extra sugar on top to counteract tartness).

  26. RavieNomNoms says:

    Congrats on the Top 9! Completely deserved!

    I adore blueberry muffins. They are by far one of my favorite things to make AND eat ;-)

  27. Gabby says:

    Do you know if I can use cranberries instead? I have them in my freezer so I can make these tonight!

    • The Shiksa says:

      Hey Gabby, yes! Again, they are much tarter than blueberries, so I would use less berries– 1 1/4 cup or so– and sprinkle the top of the muffins generously with sugar, this will counteract the tartness.

  28. Christine says:

    Congrats on Foodbuzz top 9!

  29. Peggy says:

    Your cats are absolutely gorgeous! And these muffins sound like the perfect way to start anyone’s day =)

  30. Kita says:

    Put another tick mark down for someone obsessed with blueberry muffins (and I love the cats names by the way!). There’s just something about a blueberry muffin that’s a bite of perfection every time.

  31. ALana D says:

    These look delicious and not real time consuming.

  32. Tammy says:

    is it possible to use dried or feeze-dried blueberries? that’s all I can find. do I need to rehydrate? any suggestions?

  33. Patricia says:

    I will surely be trying a cheese fondu soon. And the blueberry muffins as well.
    Your kitty is beautiful, just like our Tony.

  34. Marina says:

    Thank you for the recipe, blueberries came out very tasty but a little dry for some reason :(

    • The Shiksa says:

      Hi Marina– you likely overmixed the batter and/or baked them too long. Even baking a few minutes longer than they need can result in tough muffins. Next time, try testing the muffins a few minutes earlier and take them out as soon as they turn springy to the touch. Also, put a baking tin of water on the bottom rack of the oven with the muffins on the rack above– this will help with the dryness issue. When you’re measuring your flour, don’t pack it down tightly into the measuring cup– stir the flour in the bag with a spoon, then use that spoon to scoop it loosely, spoonful by spoonful, into the measuring cup. Level the flour off with a knife. Packing the flour can cause too much flour to be added to the batter, which will result in drier muffins. If you continue to have the same problem, let me know so I can help you troubleshoot.

  35. Susie says:

    Loved the mufffins. They were so easy to make and I had all the ingredients handy. They lasted half a day!

  36. Alex says:

    Very lovely kitties. I can tell that Muffin is a ragdoll. What about Blueberry? (I have a ragdoll myself. What a great breed).

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