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Blueberry muffins are a classic American breakfast treat. Their one flaw, in my opinion, is that sometimes the texture of the berries it too squishy for my tastes. I find biting into wet, sometimes bland, squishy fruit in the middle of a muffin very unpleasant.
Did you ever eat those blueberry muffins from a Jiffy mix as a kid? Remember those little blueberry pieces that are in there? Or other mixes with the cans of tiny blueberries in syrup? What if you could get that firmer, candied texture you find in blueberries from boxed muffin mixes using real, fresh blueberries? You can, friends. Let me show you how.
What Are Macerated Blueberries?
Macerating fruit simply means mixing it with sugar to draw out its juices. For this recipe, I tried to macerate whole blueberries, but the sugar never penetrated the blueberry’s skin. Crushing the blueberries slightly let the sugar into the fruit, which allowed the sugar to do its job of drawing out the water and sweetening the berries. This led to sweeter, firmer berries in their own syrup. When you strain out the syrup, you are left with sweet, firmer blueberries that have shed a great deal of water. This lack of water leads to an almost candied berry flavor and texture. The longer the blueberries swim around with the sugar, the more effective this technique is. The minimum macerating time for these muffins is 2 and 1/2 hours. The longest I let my blueberries go was 2 days, but you could let them go even longer. Stir the berries every once in a while to get even sugar distribution.
Does This Technique Work With Other Fruit?
Yes! I love to use this technique for strawberries or peaches and use the fruit and the resulting syrup for a waffle topping. Simply cut up your fruit, add some sugar, and let time do its thing. Strawberries and peaches don’t need very long before they release a yummy syrup, 15 minutes should do the trick. I have not tested using macerated strawberries or peaches in muffins, but it’s definitely worth looking into.
Ingredients And Equipment
Ingredients For Blueberry Muffins
- Fresh Blueberries- I did not test these muffins using frozen blueberries, but they may work. I would let them thaw, drain them, and proceed with the recipe as written from the beginning. If anyone tries this, I would love to hear about the results. Let me know how it goes in the comments.
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- 2 Large eggs
- Milk
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Fine sea salt
- Turbinado sugar- this sugar is brown in color and has a large crystal structure. It is great for adding a sweet, crunchy topping when sprinkled over the muffin batter. You could substitute granulated sugar, but you won’t get the same texture.
Equipment
There are only a few basic pieces of equipment needed for this recipe.
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- fine mesh strainer
- Rubber spatula
- Muffin tin
- Cupcake liners (optional)
- #20 scoop, for filling the muffin tin (optional, but makes the job way easier)
- Baking spray
How To Make Blueberry Muffins
- Crush 1 cup of blueberries slightly. Add sugar, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 and 1/2 hours, and up to 2 days. Stir occasionally.
- When you are ready to make the muffins, strain the blueberries.
- In a mixing bowl, add melted butter, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk.
- Add 2 eggs, one at a time. Whisk.
- Add milk. Whisk.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Begin folding the mixture together.
- Add the blueberries.
- Finish folding the batter together.
- Preheat the oven to 425 Fahrenheit. Let the batter rest while the oven preheats. This allows the batter to hydrate, which means the flour will absorb some of the liquids. This makes for a more even bake and a higher rise.
- Prepare the muffin tin, fill the wells 3/4 full and sprinkle each muffin liberally with turbinado sugar for a crunchy topping. I like to use a #20 scoop to distribute the batter evenly adn quickly.
- Bake at 425 for 5 minutes, then turn down the heat to 375 and bake another 10 to 12 minutes.
- Cool and eat! These are extra delicious warm with a pat of salty butter.
Storing Blueberry Muffins
Blueberry muffins will keep covered at room temperature for about three days, or in the freezer inside a freezer bag for at least 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Leave A Comment!
I love hearing from you! Please leave me a comment below. Did you enjoy the muffins? Have a kind, helpful suggestion? Just want to say hi? Comment down below! What kinds of baked goods do you want to see next? If you, like me, love a good muffin, check out my one bowl chocolate chip muffins, too!
Happy Cooking!
Carli
Blueberry Muffins With Macerated Blueberries
Equipment
- 1 fine mesh sieve
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- 1 #20 scoop optional
- 12 cupcake liners
- 1 muffin tin
Ingredients
For the Blueberries
- 1 cup fresh blueberries you can also use 1 and 1/2 cups if you like lots of berries in your muffins, just up the sugar to 1/2 cup.
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
For the Muffins
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- turbinado sugar for topping the muffins
Instructions
Macerate The Blueberries
- in a medium sized bowl, like a cereal bowl, crush the blueberries slightly with the back of a spoon. You just need to create breaks in the skin so that the water can be drawn out. Don't squish them into oblivion.
- Add the sugar and stir. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 and 1/2 hours, and up to 2 days, stirring occasionally. This almost candies the blueberries and you end up with a less squishy texture in the final muffin, not to mention sweet, delicious blueberries.
- Before you begin making the muffins, strain the blueberries over another bowl using a fine mesh strainer. Use the liquid to flavor sparkling water or lemonade, or discard.
For the Muffins
- In a medium sized microwave safe mixing bowl, melt 1/2 cup butter in the microwave. Add the sugar and whisk to combine.
- Add the vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, whisking to combine after each addition.
- Add the milk and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. Begin folding the mixture together with a rubber spatula. About halfway through, add the strained blueberries. Finish folding the batter together. You want some lumps in the batter, but no streaks of flour.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Letting the batter rest while the oven preheats allows the starches in the flour to absorb some liquid, leading to a fluffier muffin and a better rise.
- Spray a muffin tin lightly with baking spray. Add cupcake liners, if using. If you are not using liners, spray each muffin well very…well. Fill each liner or well about 3/4 full with batter. I like using a #20 scoop to do this, but a spoon works too.
- Sprinkle the top of each muffin liberally with turbinado sugar. This creates a crunchy, sugary top.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425, then lower the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes. The muffins are done when the tops spring back when you press on them. Cool on a wire rack, and enjoy!
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