Brace yourself, you’re about to meet your new Favorite Blueberry Muffins!! I have been craving classic, pared down recipes (and I think I’m not alone!). While these muffins don’t have 11 ingredients like the Everyday Banana Bread, they do have just 12 basic ingredients which is pretty damn good.
So no fancy ingredients, no crazy technique but HELLA delicious flavor. These Favorite Blueberry Muffins are SUPERRRRR moist, loaded with berries and just bottom-line delicious. Full stop.
I give you some Favorite Blueberry Muffin tips in the Before We Get Started section below, covering:
- What to do if you don’t have muffin liners;
- Using frozen vs fresh blueberries;
- How to make sour cream if you don’t have any in your fridge (and can’t get to the store);
- Making these without an electric stand mixer;
- How to make these one bowl (because is anyone else doing too many dishes this week?!?);
- And a final tip on storing and reheating these cuties.
I want to make these as easy as possible for you!
I have moved to the top of my list of upcoming recipe posts to include a sourdough starter post, sourdough bagel post (recipe is one of my favorites from my friend and author Emilie Raffa and comes from her book Artisan Sourdough Made Simple, a cookbook that I can’t recommend enough!!) and an amazing recipe for a classic yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting. Just because we’re home doesn’t mean we can’t find reasons to celebrate. If there is something you’d like to see in the upcoming weeks, please email, comment below or DM me on Instagram.
Hoping this post finds you safe and well at home. Sending love. xo
Before We Get Started
MUFFIN LINERS. If you don’t have muffin liners, you can cut squares of parchment paper (larger than the circumference of a muffin well in your muffin tin), crumple them up and then press them into the muffin well. Boom. Muffin liners (see more here). You can also spray with nonstick or brush with melted butter or room temperature oil.
BLUEBERRIES. You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries. If you use frozen, they do have a tendency to bleed into the batter. This doesn’t bother me. If it does you, you can toss them with 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour. It helps a bit…but I say let go and let god. A little blueberry bleed looks pretty and never hurt anyone.
ALMOND EXTRACT. I’m on a real almond extract bender lately. Feel free to sub in real vanilla extract if that’s what’s available.
SOUR CREAM. When testing these, I made them with anywhere from 1/3 cup (82 g) to 3/4 cup (184 g) of sour cream. Anywhere between 1/2 cup (123 g) and 3/4 cup (184 g) is the sweet spot. I only mention this if you only have 1/2 cup (123 g) of sour cream, I urge you to still make them!! Additionally you can substitute with plain yogurt (I prefer full fat).
MAKE YOUR OWN. If you don’t have any sour cream, your store doesn’t have any sour cream OR you can’t get to the store to buy sour cream…you can make it at home. Use about 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup of milk and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. L
et it sit out on the counter for several days, whisking daily and once it’s at the desired consistency and tang that you like, stash it in the fridge. Phyllis Grant, the author of the upcoming book Everything is Under Control, showed the process of making crème fraîche on her Instagram (@dashandbella), which is basically the same. Go give it a looksie. You can also read about it here.
MIXER. Don’t have a mixer don’t worry about it! Just use a bowl + whisk/spatula and you’re good to go!
ONE BOWL. If you are sick and tired of doing dishes like I am, you can one-bowl this beauty. Add your leavening (baking soda and baking powder) and salt to the wet ingredients and then gently fold in the flour and then the blueberries. There. See. One bowl.
STORING. That crispy crackly crust can get soft overnight. You could reheat in a 350 F (177 C) oven for 3-5 minutes. Or, if you want to eat these over several days, consider just sprinkling the ones you want to eat that day with sugar and leave the rest bare. How’s that sound?
MORE. If you’re loving this almond extract + olive oil combo, check out these recipes: Fresh Lemon Cake and Cherry Streusel Jam Muffins!
Let’s make some delicious Favorite Blueberry Muffins!!!
These delicious YUMMY blueberry muffins have a base of olive oil; I love love love baking with olive oil!!! Check out my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies made with olive oil, a bright and fresh Lemon Olive Oil Cake and my Lemon Olive Oil Gelato. Enjoy! xo
Favorite Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
For the Muffin
- 3/4 cup (144 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- ½ cup (118 ml) olive oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2/3 cup (163 g) sour cream room temperature
- 1 cup (236 ml) milk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (281 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ¾ cups (9 oz/256 g) blueberries fresh or frozen, see note above in Before We Get Started
To Garnish
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 lemon zest optional
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the sugar and lemon zest and run the machine on low for 1 minute. Take a big whiff, it smells delicious. With the mixer on low slowly stream in the olive oil. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure the first is well blended before adding in the second. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well blended. Add in the sour cream and run the mixer on low for 1 minute or until well blended. With the machine on low, stream in the milk and almond extract and run the machine for 1 minute more. Again scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well blended.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until just barely blended. Let sit for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375F (190C) and place a rack in the top 1/3 of the oven, at least 6-inches from the heat source. Line every other muffin well with a muffin liner. To make the garnish, in a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar with the lemon zest and massage them together. Set aside.
- Fold the blueberries into the muffin batter and then fill every other muffin liner at least 3/4 full. Sprinkle the lemon sugar evenly over the tops; about 1 teaspoon of lemon sugar per muffin. Fill the empty muffin wells with hot tap water about 1/2 full. Be careful transferring the tray to the oven, you don’t want to splash water into the muffins.
- Bake for 20-23 minutes in the top third of the oven or until a toothpick comes out clean and/or they bounce back when gently pressed in the center. For best results, bake one tin at a time. Let cool in the muffin tin for about 10ish minutes, then use a butter knife to help get them out to finish cooling on a rack.
You add water to the empty muffin tins so the empty ones do not burn.
These sound delicious and I am anxious to try them!
Just curious — why the hot water in alternate muffin wells rather than filling them all with batter? I’ve never read that before and would love to know why.
My husband thinks to create steam…
I made these today and they are so GOOD! Thank you for keeping me busy with these treats during quarantine. :))
I’m so happy you liked them!!!! Stay safe!! xoxo
Would coconut oil be ok?
Hi Kellee! I don’t bake much with coconut oil so I can’t give you a firm answer, but my gut says yes!! Let me know how it goes! xo
These blueberry muffins are awesome, thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy you liked them — makes my day!! xox
I decided to call these Lemon Poppy Seed Almond Blueberry Muffins. I subbed out white sugar for maple sugar, ricotta cheese for sour cream and maple sugar crumbles for the sugar on top. They were divine! Oh….and I threw in a tablespoon of poppy seeds because they were reminding me of another scone recipe that I make and I had a hankering. : )
So good!
You should make them today!
I can’t imagine a better time. ; )
I can’t either — haha!! I love the idea of poppy seeds. I need to get my hands on some maple sugar!! xoxo
They look so yummy!
They are so yummy!!! xoxo
So good – I eat them with a spoon so I don’t miss a single crumb.
Ha ha!!! Thanks Dad!!!! xoxoxo