OVERSIZED BUTTERMILK BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Read Time: 5 minutes
by Karen
13 comments

These buttermilk blueberry muffins are simply the best, most tender, and moist muffins that I have ever had. The recipe comes from Daphna Rabinovitch’s cookbook “The Baker in Me” and Daphna has graciously given me permission to share it. I like to get up a little early and make them for a family breakfast but they also make a delicious tea-time treat.

While the original recipe calls for using butter I substituted EVOO with fantastic results. I love baking with EVOO as it makes cookies, muffins, and cakes so much moister and lighter. Plus baking with EVOO instead of butter is healthier and is a great way to cut saturated fat.

Why You’ll Love These Muffins

They’re tender, moist, and delicious.
They’re easy and quick to make.
They freeze well so you can make a batch and defrost one or 2 as needed.
They make a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack.

What Ingredients Do I Need To Make These

All-purpose flour – I prefer to use un-bleached flour but you can use whatever you have on hand.
Baking powder
Baking soda
Sugar – Regular granulated white sugar is fine.
Buttermilk – At room temperature.
Extra virgin olive oil – I recommend using a good quality, light, and fruity olive oil for this recipe.
Large eggs – Use large eggs brought to room temperature before baking. To do this take your eggs out of the fridge at least an hour before using or put cold eggs in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes to warm them quickly.
Lemon zest – You want to use unwaxed lemons for zesting.
Wild blueberries – Fresh or frozen.

The ingredients for buttermilk blueberry muffins laid out in bowls on a counter.

You’ll notice that the recipe calls for bringing the eggs and buttermilk to room temperature before assembling the batter. This is a trick I learned from Daphna and it really makes a difference. Why you ask? Room-temperature dairy ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, and buttermilk form an emulsion that traps air. When baked, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffier baked good. So there you have it! For fluffier muffins make sure to take your eggs and buttermilk out of the fridge about an hour before so they can get to room temperature.

How To Make Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins

Preheat oven – Heat oven to 375F
Grease muffin tin – Grease your muffin tin well with unsalted butter or baking spray. You can also use muffin liners if you prefer.
Zest lemon – Using a rasp or a fine grater, zest lemon until you have about 2 tbsp.

Combine dry ingredients – Using a whisk mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
Combine wet ingredients – Using a whisk mix together the sugar, buttermilk, eggs, and lemon zest until well combined.

Someone whisking flour & dry ingredients for muffins.

Someone mixing wet ingredients for muffins in a bowl.

Combine wet and dry ingredients – Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon just until combined. Don’t overmix.
Flour blueberries – If using frozen blueberries stir them in 2 tbsp flour to coat them before adding to the muffin mixture. This will help prevent them from settling to the bottom of the muffins.

Someone combining wet & dry ingredients for muffins in a bowl.

Someone mixing frozen blueberries in flour.

Add blueberries – Quickly combine blueberries and muffin batter. Don’t over-mix.
Fill muffin tin – Using a scoop or large spoon fill the muffin tin evenly with the batter until all the batter has been used. The muffin tin will be quite full.
Bake – Quickly put the muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the highest portion of a muffin comes out clean.

Someone stirring blueberries into muffin mixture.

Someone filling a muffin tin with blueberry muffin batter.

Recipe Tips And Tricks For Success

Make sure to bring the eggs and buttermilk to room temperature before using them. It really does make a difference. Room-temperature dairy ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, and buttermilk form an emulsion that traps air. When baked, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffier baked good.
Don’t overmix the batter when combining the wet ingredients with the dry. Overmixing can cause the muffins to be tough. For best results, you want to stir it until it’s just combined. It’s alright if there are a few lumps. The same when you add the blueberries. Be sure not to overmix.
After adding the blueberries, fill the muffin tins right away and put the tin in the oven quickly. Don’t let the batter sit around or your muffins won’t be tender.

Recipe Variations

If you’d like to make a gluten-free version of these muffins you could use an all-in-one gluten-free flour. Be sure to check the bag to make sure it says that it can be used on a one-to-one ratio to replace regular flour.

Recipe Substitutions

Feel free to substitute other fruit for the blueberries. Cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries would all be good.

Storage Tips

These muffins will stay fresh on the counter in a covered container for about 2 days or 5 days in the fridge. They also freeze very well. They will keep well in a ziplock bag in the freezer for a couple of months. I like to wrap each muffin individually and place them all in one ziplock bag so I can remove only as much as I need at a time.

A blueberry muffin on a plate with a knife.

Frequently Asked Questions;

How do you keep frozen blueberries from bleeding in muffins? To keep the frozen blueberries from bleeding just toss them in a tablespoon of flour to coat them before adding them to the batter. This will also help to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. 

Should I thaw frozen blueberries before baking in muffins? There is no need to thaw blueberries before using them when baking. Just use the above method of coating them in a little flour before adding them to the batter to help prevent them from bleeding and sinking.