Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins
Loaded with fresh blueberries, these Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins are a great way to start the day!
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Back in the winter, I mentioned how my wife and I joined a local curling club. It’s a crazy sport, and I still chuckle to myself that I am now a curler. But we love it! It’s a fascinating combination of skill and sheer insanity, but it works. (I mean, who decides to create a sport where you launch 44-pound granite rocks down a sheet of frozen ice??)
All jokes aside, one of our favorite things about the curling club is actually not the sport itself. It’s all of the awesome new friends we met throughout the season. Back in college, it was so incredible easy to meet new friends. But once you get older (especially if you move to a new city), it can be hard to meet friends. It’s taken us a number of years, but the curling club has proven to be a great source of new friends.
One of these aforementioned friends insists on calling me the muffin man. I’m not sure she actually knows my name. I’m just the muffin man. Sometimes I’m the muffin man who lives on Drury Lane. That’s actually how she introduces me to new people. “Hey, have you met my friend, the muffin man? He actually is the muffin man.” I think this nickname came about because I often took leftover baked goods into the curling club. Cakes, cookies, and yes even muffins. I mean, I love to bake. And I don’t want to waste any food!
In an effort to live up to my moniker as the muffin man, I decided to whip up a batch of Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins. Blueberry muffins have always held a special place in my heart, and I am a little shocked that I’ve never shared a blueberry muffin recipe here. As a little boy, my mom would sometimes bake blueberry muffins on Sunday morning. You knew it was going to be a good day when you smelled fresh blueberry muffins in the oven!
Before I started writing Spiced, I worked in a local bakery for several months. I learned quite a few things (both good and bad) about professional bakeries, and one of the tricks that has always stuck with me is topping muffins with a layer of coarse sugar. It’s not a healthy trick by any means, but it sure does produce some awesome looking muffins, right?
Another bakery trick is using the right type of flour for what you are baking. (This isn’t really a “trick” per se. It’s more just using the right ingredients for the job, but let’s just go with it.) I’m not going to launch into a detailed explanation of various types of flour here. I mean, I don’t want to bore you all to death talking about the protein content of different flours.
Instead, I’m just going to say that pastry flour is the key to producing tender baked goods. Typically reserved for pie crusts, biscuits and scones, pastry flour can also be used in muffins…and the result is quite nice! You end up with a dense yet fluffy (yes, that’s possible) muffin that is quite irresistible. Seriously, I dare you to eat just one of these Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins. They’re insanely delicious! (Just for reference, you can absolutely use all-purpose flour for this recipe. The muffins will still be tasty!)
Another secret to producing perfect muffins? Using the right bakeware. For these blueberry muffins, I used the Jumbo Muffin Pan from Fat Daddio’s. As you guys have probably noticed, I’m a huge fan of Fat Daddio’s bakeware. Their bakeware is professional quality and it performs beautifully in the oven. The anodized aluminum muffin pan heats faster and cools quicker, and it will never rust, flake, peel or chip. I like my bakeware to perform the same way years from now that it did on Day 1. And that’s where Fat Daddio’s comes in!
I used the Jumbo Muffin Pan for these blueberry muffins, but Fat Daddio’s also makes a variety of uniquely-shaped muffin tins. For instance, their Crown, Heart or 3-Tier Cake Pans would all produce some pretty cool shapes for your blueberry muffins!
So grab some fresh summer blueberries and bake up a batch of these Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins this weekend!
What is your favorite type of muffin? Oh, and do you know the muffin man?
Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- 2¾ cups pastry flour
- 1¼ cups + 2 Tbsp sugar
- 3½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1½ cups fresh blueberries
For the Sugar Topping
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 3 Tbsp sanding sugar or another coarse sugar, such as turbinado
Instructions
- Grease and flour jumbo muffin pan or line with paper liners; set pan aside.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; stir until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and melted butter.
- Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture; stir until just barely combined. (Note: Take care not to overmix the batter at this stage. The batter may look lumpy.)
- Carefully fold the blueberries into the batter until well combined. (Tip: To prevent blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins, toss the fresh berries in 1 Tbsp of flour before folding them ingto the batter.)
- Fill each muffin liner just over ½ full. (Tip: Do not overfill or the muffins will overflow as they bake!)
- Bake at 400°F for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out mostly clean.
- Let muffins cool for about 10 minutes.
- For the Sugar Topping, brush tops of cooled muffins with the melted butter. Place sanding sugar in a shallow dish and dip tops of muffins into sugar.
Notes
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Fat Daddio’s.
Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
Yes – apparently, I do know the muffin man – apparently, he lives near Saratoga Springs and goes by the name of David! 🙂 And I am seriously thinking of relocating up north just so I can join this curling club you belong to! I am horrible on ice – but who cares – I will be the muffin-watcher! Muffins like this need to be watched or guarded!
I used to work in a bakery too a long while ago, and I remember that sugar trick – except, they didn’t put it on the chocolate chip muffins – which were and still are my fav!
Yes! The muffin-watcher is a seriously important position. Without the muffin watcher, then the muffin snatchers will invade…and then everyone is sad. Hmmm…chocolate chip muffins you say? I think I need one of those right about now! 🙂
Muffin man? Like, really?
Does guy knows you’re part of the mighty wolf pack?
You may bake flawless blueberry muffins but you also hunt wildebeests!
#WolfpackBaker
*does the guy knows
This is true, Alpha! But wildebeest hunting takes a lot out of you…and I hear that muffins can restore said energy. It’s a delicate balance being the Wolfpack Muffin Man, but someone has to do it…you know, for the greater good of wolves everywhere!
Come to think of it, I don’t have a go-to blueberry muffin recipe, but I’m thinking this one will be it – they look fantastic! Thanks for all the bakery insider tips!
Thanks! This recipe became my go-to muffin recipe back when I took some baking courses at a local culinary institute. I’ve tweaked it a bit over the years, but it’s a proven winner around here! I have found that really big blueberries often sink to the bottom of the muffins, though. I try to use smaller blueberries, or I just deal with the blueberries at the bottom. Not like it’s the end of the world…haha! I hope you enjoy these bad boys as much as we do!
Wow these look like they are sinfully delicious!! The sugar really does make them extra special. I love that you mention making new friends after joining the curling club. I’m terrible with names and often have these funny names for people as well. You should probably keep making muffins if you are going to be the muffin man, that’s a pretty epic nick name 🙂
Haha, yeah I could think of a lot of names worse than the muffin man! But you should see my phone. I have all sorts of nicknames made up for people so that I’ll remember who they are. There’s Dave Deck Guy…Curling Kim…the list goes on. Hey, it works!
Those blueberry muffins look PERFECT, David! Easily something I’d find in a bakery, but yours look way better!! 🙂
Thank you so much, Christina! It’s hard to top a classic blueberry muffin! 🙂
I can think of worse nicknames…. Seriously, these muffins look perfect and the sugar on top really is a nice touch. I’ve never seen curling other than on tv. I’m fairly certain that we don’t have any curling clubs around here. I’m glad you guys found a fun place to make new friends!
Actually, I think you guys do have a curling club down there, Rachelle! Charlotte, right? I only know because I want to move back to North Carolina one day, and I was scouting out if there are any curling clubs down there. It’s totally a fun sport…and you can play at any age. Go check it out…for real! We have a few members in our club who are in their late 80’s and still playing. Crazy!
Hi David! We have blueberry bushes, but they are quite young so not producing much yet. We were in blueberry country when we lived in MI – had a farm just down the road. I’ve been using frozen Maine wild berries, they are much smaller and are packed with flavor! I make a streusel topped blueberry coffee cake that is really good, but I’m thinking these muffins are up next!
Yeah, our blueberry bushes have been a bit fickle the past couple of years, Dorothy. They’re alive, but not looking so hot. I suspect it actually has something to do with teh acidity of the soil, but I need to go test it and figure it out. I love using frozen Maine blueberries when we don’t pick our own! Plus, the smaller berries actually do better in muffins. I love eating the huge blueberries, but smaller is better for baking I think. Now tell me more about this coffee cake…I’m intrigued!!
Hi David! It’s an Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa at Home) recipe which I tweeked a little bit. I use the Maine blueberries in it because them seem to distribute more evenly so you get berries in every bite! I can e-mail it to you if you want – let me know! 🙂
Hey Dorothy! If you don’t mind emailing it over, I’d love to see it! Who knows…it might even have to make an appearance here in the Fall if that is ok with you. (I love coffee cakes in the Fall…haha!)
Hi David! Done – it should be in your in box!
These look killer #WolfpackMuffinMan
Thanks, Kevin!
Blueberry muffins are definitely my favourite type of muffin! These look really delicious – love the idea of sprinkling the tops with coarse sugar. Pinning – Sunday morning breakfast is sorted! Thanks for sharing, David! 😀
Haha…these muffins do make for an epic Sunday morning breakfast, Jess! From one blueberry muffin lover to another, cheers! 🙂
the muffins look awesome David, I need to buy one of those muffin pans!
This muffin pan is pretty darned amazing, Manali! In fact, all of Fat Daddio’s bakeware has been excellent…check it out if you need some new pans. 🙂 In the meantime, though, let’s eat muffins!!
The smell of freshly baked blueberry muffins is one of those almost perfect smells. I think that this is almost a health food because of all the fruit in it and therefore I can eat 4 a day, right?
Hahaha…sure, this is an almost-health food, Dannii…minus the sugar coating on top, of course. 🙂 Blueberry muffins are a serious weakness for me. They’ve been one of my favorites ever since I was a little kid! 🙂
oooooo after watching Shrek, I’ve always wanted to find the elusive muffin man. Now I found him! I never knew you used to work in a bakery- No wonder your a baking guru. Also, adding sugar on top of well…anything = impressive.
Curl me one of these please. and by one, I mean 12.
There’re two kind of sports I’d love to try – golf and curling. Curling seems to be a hilarious game. How is it possible to do all these things on an ice surface, sometimes in an awkward position, having a serious face look? It’s interesting that you used to work in a bakery. Even though you worked just for a short period of time, that might influenced you. At least, I have no other explanation how did you bake these perfect muffins! (It was an awkward compliment by the way ha-ha).
Yeah, I can’t help you with golf, but come on up in the winter, and I’ll take you out to curl a game or two! It’s a seriously addicting sport…and it can definitely get intense. Trust me! Hah…yes, I did work in a bakery for a short time. It was a local bakery, and I’ll have to give you the scoop sometime. Let’s just say I learned how NOT to run a bakery. Then I took some classes at a local culinary school for fun, and that’s where I learned a ton of the basics. Either way, thank you for the awkward compliment! 🙂
Dear Muffin Man…David,
I love blueberry treats…they remind me of my dad because he loved blueberries. I know he would have loved these too. They look absolutely wonderful! Pinning for later. Have a wonderful evening my friend, Catherine
Thank you so much, Catherine! Isn’t it funny how certain foods engender certain thoughts and memories? For me, blueberry muffins remind me of Sunday mornings as a kid. Oh, those were good times! 🙂
That’s funny, you are a curler, a proud curler! I never met a curler before, I see the sport being played only at the Olympics and then never again until the next one. I can imagine the fun of the club though. I love sports, but I think I like sport clubs more. I tried a few and always had a great time. You must working on winning them over with these babies 🙂 Good job!
I do indeed curl, Emanuele! I’m not near as good as the professionals, but I do enjoy it as a side activity. Plus, it’s nice to actually have something to look forward to during the winter. Add in the cheap prices at the bar in the curling club, and you’ve got a recipe for good times! Hah! Of course, blueberry muffins help, too. 🙂
Hello! Just make applesauce muffins and add your fruit of choice! Soooo moist and awesome! I have many many fans of this recipe including the many beer stores lol!
Applesauce muffins sound delicious, Jacqueline! Thanks for the idea!
The muffin man, love it and these muffins! I would have to say blueberry muffins tie with orange cranberry muffins as my favorite muffins. I like to top mine with a crumble most of the time, but the sugar on top is definitely a nice touch and does make the muffins look really pretty.
I don’t think I’ve ever baked with pastry flour before. I will have to give it a try!
Oh, I think cranberry orange muffins with a crumble on top sound amazing, Tamara! Not sure they’d be able to beat out blueberry since that is such a classic for me, but I’m pretty sure they’d still be a huge favorite. They sound perfect for the Fall when the mornings are just turning crisp. 🙂