Best Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins

Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love. 

This recipe for Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins actually came from my grandmother's "old green cookbook" (title lost over time) and is featured in conjunction with a fan favorite podcast episode featuring... my own 4 kids! Make sure you listen to our episode, Storied Recipes According to My Kids, while you make my mom's (and grandmother's!) Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins!   

This classic family recipe makes perfect blueberry muffins. My siblings and I have fond memories of walking into the house after cross-country practice to the smell of freshly baked homemade blueberry muffins. No matter how many my mom made, there were never enough! Now that I have 4 sons of my own, I've memorized my grandmother's recipe for old-fashioned blueberry!

Made with butter (not oil) and milk, these are the most fluffy, tender muffins I've ever tasted. Unlike overly sweet bakery-style muffins, these have a more subtle sweetness, emphasizing flavors of vanilla and bright burst of jammy caramelized blueberry in every bite.

P.S. If you love old-fashioned baked goods, try this Kentucky Butter Cake recipe provided by my podcast guest, Cheryl Norris.

Jump to:

• Top Tip
• Next Top Tip
• Substitutions
• Ingredients
• Variations on Recipe
• Instructions
• Equipment
• Can I Freeze Blueberry Muffins?
• Are Blueberry Muffins Healthy
• More Baking Favorite from Around the World
• Listen to My Four Sons' Episode
• Recipe
• Follow The Storied Recipe in Your Favorite Player
• Look, Flavor, and Texture

Top Tip

My top tip for making the best blueberry muffins is to use room temperature butter and room temperature large eggs.

As explained in this article from Bon Appetiit explains, if you use cold butter and eggs instead of room temperature butter and eggs, your batter may not aerate enough to allow the muffins to be fluffy.

P.S. Room temperature butter does not mean melted butter. If you do want to speed up the process of softening the butter, set your microwave to a low setting and microwave the butter in 30-second intervals until it is softened. 

Next Top Tip

Do *not* use an electric mixer or overbeat these muffins. Your approach to this recipe is actually more similar to a pastry than a cake. You'll cut the butter into the dry ingredients and mix only until it comes together and there is no visible flour.

Substitutions

Frozen Blueberries vs. Fresh Blueberries

• In terms of the taste, it will not vary too much if you use frozen berries or fresh berries.
• However, because of the additional water from frozen berries, it could make the blueberries bleed and not hold their structure when baked.
• Bake or Break has a few good tips to try to help combat the extra liquid from the frozen berries:
  • Toss the berries in a little bit of cornstarch, tapioca flour, or regular flour to help soak up some liquid.
  • Rinse the berries in cold water but do not thaw the berries.
  • Bake for a little bit longer in the oven to cook off the excess liquid.

Whole Wheat vs. Regular Flour

• If you want a heartier and a bit more healthy muffin, you can substitute whole wheat flour for regular flour. 
• Whole wheat has more fiber because it is made from wheat bran, and as this Greatist article states, "[it] cuts through the gluten and detracts from the light and airy texture of the cake [muffin]." They suggest starting with only 25% of whole wheat flour in the recipe because if you use a 1-to-1 ratio it will make the muffin very dense and heavy. 

Ingredients

The muffin ingredients are basic pantry staples so you will not have to take an extra trip to the grocery store. These few, simple ingredients produce bakery-style muffins that would be a great addition to any breakfast spread.

Dry Ingredients

• Flour 
• Baking powder
• Brown sugar or white sugar based on your preference (Kristine in Between says brown sugar has more moisture than white sugar, thanks to the molasses content. This extra moisture contributes to a soft texture in muffins.) 
• Salt

Wet Ingredients

• A large egg
• Unsalted butter (or shortening)
• Milk

Variations on Recipe

Lemon blueberry muffins

• If you want to add more zing to your blueberry muffins, this recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod uses lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract as a delicious variation to the classic blueberry muffin.
• (Or add orange zest and orange juice!)

How to Make a Crumble for Blueberry Muffins

• Adding a streusel topping to your blueberry muffins gives a crunchy topping to your muffins
• Fifteen Spatulas shared an easy crumb topping recipe for blueberry cinnamon streusel muffins. The streusel is simple and only consists of flour, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter to achieve a crunchy, sweet topping for your muffins. 
• If you want to try another variation of a crunchy, nutty topping, Sally's Baking Addiction crumb topping consists of brown sugar, chopped walnuts, and cinnamon. 

Blueberry Cardamom Muffins

• Another variation to your blueberry muffins is to add ground cardamom to your muffin batter, like this recipe from the Tasting Table. 
• Cardamom will give your blueberry muffins a warm and aromatic flavor that has a Scandinavian or South Asian taste. 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
• Soften butter/shortening in a warm place.
• Rinse and dry fresh blueberries; for frozen, do not thaw but you can put them in cold water and then pat them dry to get rid of some of the water before baking.
• Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
• Cut butter/shortening into dry ingredients.
• Beat egg and milk until smooth.
• Combine wet and dry ingredients; gently fold in blueberries.
• Spoon batter into muffin tins or liners.
• Optionally, sprinkle with coarse sugar or strudel toppings.
• Bake at 400°F (204°C) for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Equipment

• A large bowl
• 12 cup muffin tin
• Paper liners or reusable muffin liners (optional)
• Wire rack

Can I Freeze Blueberry Muffins?

• Yes, you can freeze your leftover muffins in an airtight container for up to a month!
• Many people suggest first freezing the muffins either on a baking sheet or wrapping them individually first for about 6 hours before putting them together in freezer bags or an airtight container. 
• It will take about an hour or two at room temperature to fully thaw the muffins. If you want a quicker option, you can microwave them for 30 to 45 seconds on high, or set your oven temperature to 400 degrees and reheat the muffins for 10 to 15 minutes.

Are Blueberry Muffins Healthy

My response to this question is always the same -- everything is healthy in moderation!

Yes, there is flour, sugar, and butter in the muffins.

However, blueberries are high in vitamin K which helps promote heart health, bone health, and blood clotting, and are one of the best natural sources of antioxidants (WebMD). 

More Baking Favorite from Around the World

Listen to My Four Sons' Episode

This recipe is an old family recipe shared from my grandmother's
"Green Cookbook", the title of which has been lost through the generations.

I shared this recipe because one of my 4 sons mentioned it - along with their thoughts on food, cooking, and the rules of our kitchen - in a Bonus Episode of The Storied Recipe Podcast.

002 Storied Recipes According to My Kids

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Recipe

Follow The Storied Recipe in Your Favorite Player

Look, Flavor, and Texture

Look:

• The muffins should be a golden brown color with tantalizing bursts of purple and blue coming through.
• To give the tops of the muffins to give it a more inviting look, I like to sprinkle a little turbinado sugar - which also gives a sweet crunch to the top of each muffin.

Flavor:

• Not overly sweet (different from a cupcake).
• Flavors of vanilla come through.
• The star of these muffins is the true fruity blueberry flavor, heightened and sweetened as they're roasted right inside the muffins.

Texture:

• While these muffins have a tender crumb, they have a little heft - break more than they tear.