Marcy Goldman's Blueberry Muffins

Ok, I have finally found the perfect basic blueberry muffin recipe. After years of searching and baking and eating blueberry muffins, this is it. I will make no other recipe now. I can't wait for blueberry season this year! I will be turning out dozens of these big boys. My one and only change was to leave out the orange extract that the original recipe called for. Maybe next time I will add it. Just wasn't in the mood when I made these last night. When I first read this recipe I was surprised by the 425 degree oven temperature. Well, for the first 15 minutes it's 425 then you turn it down to 350 degrees. Mine were not exactly jumbo muffins so I left it at 425 for only 10 minutes. Mine were regular size muffins on the bottom but had a big cap on top. These muffins are not terribly sweet. I sprinkled half of mine with sparkling sugar before baking them and that added a bit more sweetness and a slight crunch. I bet a streusel on top would be awesome! Maybe I will try that next time.

But if you are looking for a wonderful basic blueberry muffin recipe, you MUST give this one a whirl. You won't be disappointed.

Marcy Goldman's Blueberry Muffins

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

This recipe will make 12 jumbo-size muffins (2 pans of 6 each), or 24 regular size muffins (2 pans of 12 each).

Line muffin pans with paper liners and coat the top of the pans between the cups liberally with baking spray. Place the pans on parchment-lined cookie sheets. (I know the cookie sheet sounds like a useless extra step, but it really does help the muffins from getting too brown on the bottom during baking. I also put the oven rack in the top 1/3 of the oven - that helps prevent too much browning also).

2 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 eggs, large
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract (I left this out)
5 cups All-Purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk (I used whole milk with a bit of vinegar)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups semi frozen blueberries

You can prepare this batter entirely by hand if you want to. Since the butter is melted, its easiest to mix by hand.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl blend the oil and sugar together. Add the eggs, lemon extract and vanilla extract and blend well. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture. Blend in the buttermilk and sour cream. The batter should be thick. Gently stir in the blueberries. Too much stirring or too heavy of a hand causes the blueberries to burst, therefore leaving you with a blueish purplish batter. Doesn't effect the taste at all but might not look as pretty.

Fill your prepared muffins cups all the way to the top. Sprinkle a bit of sugar on top if you'd like.

Bake the muffins, if jumbo sized, for 15 minutes at 425, then turn the temperature down to 350 degrees and continue baking 12 to 16 more minutes, until the muffin tops are lightly golden, and a toothpick inserted deeply into the center of one of the middle muffins comes out mostly clean. The muffins should also spring back when lightly pressed with your finger. (They'll bake in half the time, if they're not jumbos.)

Let them cool in their pans for about 5 minutes before you attempt to remove them.