Very Blueberry Muffins

Yield:

12 muffins

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick baking spray.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together 1 cup blueberries (half the total amount) with the lemon juice and 2 teaspoons sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, until the blueberries split their skins and the mixture thickens a bit, about 6 minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.

Now, make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ¾ cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Sprinkle the cold butter cubes over the dry ingredients, then use a handheld or a stand mixer (with paddle attachment) on low speed to blend in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal with only very small pieces of butter.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Add this to the dry mixture and stir just until everything is combined and there are no dried bits at the bottom of the bowl. The mixture will be quite thick. Now press a walnut-sized piece of batter into the bottom of each well of your muffin pan. This will prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom.

Use a spatula to stir in the fresh blueberries until evenly combined. Now, make a little well in the center of the batter. Pour the cooked blueberries into it. Using a skewer or chopsticks, swirl this mixture partway into the batter just until it’s lightly marbled. (You want distinct areas of white and purple batter.) Use an ice cream scoop to evenly portion the batter among the wells of the muffin tin. Sprinkle muffins with cinnamon sugar and bake until nicely domed and firm on top, 15 to 20 minutes, turning the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking. Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes, then let them finish cooling on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Notes

If using smaller wild berries, measure them by weight rather than volume for best results.