The Best Blueberry Muffins

We went blueberry picking last week.  I discovered Frog Eye Blueberry Farm for the first time last summer when I was looking for an All-American activity for our French exchange student who was spending three weeks with us.  When we got home I looked through my recipe book and found The Best Blueberry Muffins recipe in a little Muffins cookbook by Elizabeth Alston.  They really ARE the best blueberry muffins I've ever tasted, so I thought the recipe was worth sharing with you.

♫Music to Drive By♫

First, you must get in your car and drive to Frog Eye Blueberry Farm.  You will come upon a little hamlet called Burkittsville. . . .

Make a right turn at the center of town at P. J. Gilligan's 1860's Dry Goods Store. . . .

Proceed past the charming houses on the right. . . .

. . . .and as you drive out of the village note the quaint farmhouse on the left. . . .

This road will take you through Gathland State Park, noted for its memorial to Civil War Correspondents.  Then you'll turn left onto a two-lane highway for a couple miles until you see the sign for Frog Eye Blueberry Farm.  Turn right here and follow the little lane until you come to this sign. . . .

Follow that lane up to the farm, get your bucket, and head for the blueberry bushes. . . .

Fill two buckets full....

You won't need that much for the recipe, but you'll want to make another batch very soon and, of course, you'll want berries on your cereal every morning.  You can freeze the rest by spreading them out on a cookie sheet.  Once frozen they can be put in a bag and stored in the freezer till you're ready for your next batch of muffins.

Walk back up the hill and take a break under this tree. . . .

Take your buckets up to the tent to have them weighed. . . .

Ours came to 6.5 lbs. and cost $22.75 for pesticide/chemical free berries.

Now you're ready to make the muffins.

♫Music to Bake Muffins By♫

The Best Blueberry Muffins

12 Regular Muffins

Bursting with berries, these are the best blueberry muffins of all.  The secret is an extra ½ cup of blueberries, which are mashed and then added to the batter.  Serve warm, with Honey Butter (see below).

 ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

 1 cup granulated sugar, or slightly less depending on tartness of

         blueberries

 2 large eggs

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 2 teaspoons baking powder

 ¼ teaspoon salt

 2½ cups blueberries (Mash ½ cup with a fork)

 2 cups all-purpose flour

 ½ cup milk

 1 tablespoon sugar mixed with ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 375° F.  Grease 12 muffin cups, including the area between each cup, or use foil baking cups.

In a medium-size bowl, beat ½ cup butter until creamy. . . .

Beat in 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy. . . .

Beat in 2 large eggs, one at a time. . . .

Beat in 1 tsp. vanilla. . . .

2 tsp. baking powder. . . .

¼ tsp. salt. . . .

Mix ½ cup mashed berries into batter. . . .

Fold in half the flour (1 cup) with a spatula, then half the milk (¼ cup). . . .

Add remaining 1 cup flour and ¼ cup milk. . . .

Fold in remaining 2 cups blueberries. . . .

Scoop batter into muffin cups.  A large ice cream scooper with the thingy that pushes it out is great for this. . . .

Mix 1 Tblsp. sugar with 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. . . .

Sprinkle a scant 1/4 tsp. on each muffin. . . .

Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.   Done when lightly browned and toothpick test comes out clean. . . .

Let muffins cool at least 30 minutes in the pan before removing.  You see why you need to grease the top of the muffin pan, too. . . .

And if you have a dickens of a time getting them out of the muffin tins because you didn't grease the tin well enough, you can always turn it into a Blueberry Crumble.  These were supposed to be for my guests' breakfast tomorrow.  Oh well.  Now it's going to be their dessert tonight with whipped cream instead. . . .

Here is the Honey Butter recipe for those of you who get the muffins out of the tin successfully. . . .

Honey Butter

About ⅓ cup

 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

 1 tablespoon honey

Beat butter and honey in a small bowl until fluffy and well mixed. . . .  

Store tightly covered.  Keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator.

To print out a copy of this recipe drag this jpeg to your desktop, double click on it, and print it from the Preview menu:

Blueberry Muffin jpeg