Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

Scott and I recently spent a very relaxing week in Maine with some friends.  We were on a small island on Penobscot Bay within walking distance of a little shack that sold lobster and crab rolls, ice cream, and huge slices of wild blueberry pie.  It was such a perfect, peaceful setting that we barely left the island.  Mostly we just sat around reading books and playing board games, went for an occasional walk, and took naps in the afternoons.  After a rough morning of reading, who doesn’t need a nap? 

 

Towards the end of the week, we did venture out on a quest to find wild blueberries.  It took a few farm stands, but we finally found one that had what we were looking for:  perfectly ripe, tiny, and delicious wild blueberries.  We bought a few pints and hauled them back on the flight with us. 

Have you ever had fresh wild blueberries before?  They are tinier than regular blueberries and are very flavorful.  I used half of what we bought to make two batches of these muffins and ate the rest on cereal.  It was a nice way to extend the flavors of vacation once we were home.  If you are a fan of blueberry muffins, then you should definitely try this recipe!  They are packed with blueberries and have just the right amount of lemony pop.  Enjoy!

Notes:
I used fresh wild (lowbush) blueberries for these muffins.  Wild blueberries are smaller than regular blueberries so you will end up with a nicer distribution of small berry pockets in your muffins.  If you can’t find fresh wild blueberries, you can use frozen ones.  Just make sure that the frozen wild blueberries are still frozen when you add them to the batter since they will bleed into your batter and are more like to get crushed in the stirring process if they are defrosted.  If you are using fresh wild blueberries, rinse them, pick off as many stems as you can, and put them in a single layer on a paper towel-lined plate to dry a bit as you prepare the batter.  The sour cream that I used is full-fat sour cream.  I like to let my sour cream sit out for a few minutes before I start making these muffins so that it is easier to stir it into the liquid/wet ingredients.  I really liked the lemon in these muffins, but next time I might try some orange zest and a little bit of orange juice.  You can make these without a muffin liner, but I prefer to use liners since it makes it easier to get the muffins out of the pan.  This recipe makes 12 muffins.  It might seem like you are overfilling the cups when you divide the batter into the 12 liners, but trust me, making just 12 muffins will result in nice tops and perfect muffins.  These muffins freeze well. 

Adapted from The New Best Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups (274 g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (13 g) baking powder
½ teaspoon (4 g) salt
1 egg
zest from 1 small lemon (~½ teaspoon; 3 g)
½ teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1¼ cups (296 g) sour cream
4 tablespoons (54 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1½ cups (244 g) wild blueberries

Yields 12 regular-sized muffins

Whisk, Whisk, Pour, Toss, Stir, Divide, Bake:
Place an oven rack at the middle level of the oven, and preheat to 350ºF.  Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners and set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.  In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg until it is fully beaten.  Whisk in the lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla, and then add the sugar and whisk until the mixture is a lemon color and almost creamy looking.  Whisk in the sour cream and then add the butter in a thin stream while whisking.  Gently toss the washed berries with the flour mixture.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the wet ingredients.  Gently stir the batter with a spatula until it is combined.  It is ok to have a few small flour streaks, but don’t leave any large clumps or pockets of flour.  Be careful not to crush the berries.  Use a large muffin/cookie scoop or two spoons to divide the batter evenly into 12 muffin cups.  Bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Allow the muffins to rest in the pan for about 5 minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan and transfer to a wire rack.  Eat while warm or allow them to fully cool and put them in a container and freeze them.  Yum!

 
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