I made these muffins last week and brought them to school for a morning meeting. The best thing about this recipe is that you can make the batter ahead of time, keep it in the refrigerator, and bake them right before serving. This saved me a lot of time and made it so that I didn't have to wake up at 6am to make them... hugely helpful!
The consistency of these was phenomenal- absolutely the best of any muffin I've made before. They were light and fluffy and perfect. The batter was lacking a bit of flavor, so I've adjusted the recipe to add a bit more. I also made a small amount of cinnamon/sugar streusel topping to give these an extra crunch. Yum. Adapted from Cook's Illustrated. Yields 12-15 muffins.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups plain whole milk yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 cups blueberries, plus 1 tablespoon flour
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Add the lemon zest and vanilla to the yogurt, and stir to combine.
Reduce the mixer to medium-low and beat in half of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the yogurt mixture. Then pour in half of the remaining flour mixture, followed by one-third of the yogurt mixture, then finish with the rest of the flour and the rest of the yogurt, mixing
just until combined. Do NOT overbeat.
Mix the 1 tablespoon of flour with the blueberries and toss to coat. Pour the blueberries into the batter and slowly fold to combine. If baking immediately, pour into prepared muffin tins and sprinkle with streusel topping (recipe below). Bake at 375 degrees for 20-28 minutes until lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool on rack and serve hot!
** If NOT baking immediately, pour finished batter into an air-tight container and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins and sprinkle with streusel topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool on rack and serve hot!
STREUSEL TOPPING
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
In a small bowl mix together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the pieces of butter and using a fork or your fingers mix together until mixture resembles a coarse grain. Sprinkle on top of un-baked muffins.