Recipe: Blueberry Muffins

Based on the recipe from the May 2009 Cook's Illustrated for "Best Blueberry Muffins with Frozen Blueberries". Read the story behind this dish in Sunday, Dinner for Two. 

Makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients 

Lemon-Sugar Topping
⅓ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons zest from one lemon
Muffins
2 cups (1 pint) fresh blueberries
8 ounces (1⅛ cups) sugar
12½ ounces (2½ cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (or use buttermilk powder, mixing the powder with the dry ingredients and water with the wet, following the directions on the container)
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 

Instructions

1. Topping: In a small bowl stir the lemon zest and sugar together.
2. Muffins: Melt the butter and let it cool slightly.
3. Rinse the berries with water and dry well.
4. Heat the oven to 425° with a rack in the upper-middle position.
5. Spray a muffin tin with baking spray or line with muffin cups.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
7. In a medium bowl whisk the sugar and eggs until thick.
8. Slowly whisk in the melted butter and oil.
9. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla.
10. Toss the dried blueberries in the flour mixture until the berries are coated.
11. Gently fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture until barely combined. There will be some small pockets of dry flour.
12. Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin tin (an ice cream scoop works well for this).
13. Bake until golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating the muffin tin after about 9 minutes.
14. Cool muffins in tin for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
15. Serve warm.

Rinse fresh blueberries, drain and dry well.

Mix sugar and lemon zest for the topping.

Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt.

Assemble the wet ingredients: sugar, vanilla extract, melted butter, oil, eggs, and buttermilk (water is shown here because I used a buttermilk powder.)

Whisk together the wet ingredients in the specified order.

Toss the dried blueberries in the flour mixture.

Gently fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture.

Transfer batter to muffin cups, top with the lemon sugar, bake, cool, and serve.