These JUMBO blueberry muffins are moist, fluffy, and brimming with plump, juicy blueberries. Even better than the ones from your favorite bakery!
Blueberry muffins are one of the most quintessential treats when it comes to breakfast. There’s nothing like a soft, extra fluffy blueberry muffin bursting with juicy berries and served with a slab of softened butter. It definitely deserves its permanent place on the menu of your local bakery.
And while I do enjoy stopping by my favorite bakery from time to time, sometimes it’s hard to beat a good homemade blueberry muffin that’s fresh from the oven. So if you’re hankering for a blueberry muffin that’s BETTER than you’ll find at any bakery, look no further than these…
Packed with plump blueberries and baked to fluffy golden perfection, these sky-high blueberry muffins are out of this world delicious! They’re extra soft and bouncy with a lusciously tender and moist crumb. Furthermore, they’re simple to throw together and made with common ingredients you probably already have.
What Makes These Blueberry Muffins THE Best?
Lots of Fresh Blueberries – Opt for fresh blueberries, if possible. Even though frozen blueberries can be substituted, they have the tendency to bleed into the batter. It’s best to fold them in straight from the freezer without letting them thaw. I also like to reserve about a half cup of the berries to push into the tops of the muffins. This makes the muffins look like they’re EXTRA loaded with blueberries!
Brown the Butter – This recipe contains both oil and butter. Oil does a better job of creating that moist, pillowy texture while butter lends more flavor. To further enhance that flavor, I browned the butter. This adds a nutty complexity of flavor that balances the sweetness of the fresh blueberries perfectly.
Almond extract and Cinnamon – These two flavor agents are absolutely ESSENTIAL. Cinnamon brings a nice warmth to the muffins, while almond extract adds that iconic bakery flavor. Although you only need a little of each, they pack so much flavor and enhance the sweetness of the muffins so well.
Vanilla (or fruit-flavored) Yogurt – While sour cream is often added in muffin recipes, I prefer yogurt for its ability to achieve a light and tender crumb. It also lends more sweetness and flavor. For the most part, I’ll opt for vanilla yogurt. However, for this recipe, I tried peach yogurt. If you do choose a fruit-flavored yogurt, try to leave out any fruit pieces.
White AND Brown Sugar – I like to use an equal ratio of white (granulated) sugar and brown sugar. White sugar provides more structure to the muffin, whereas brown sugar lends extra moisture as well as a nice maple sweetness. It also has a bit of acidity, which reacts with the baking soda, resulting in a taller rise. What I like about these muffins is that they’re not too sweet like your typical Costco muffins, which are more like mini cakes.
Tips For Baking EXTRA Tall Muffins
Let the Muffin Batter Rest – One of the keys to baking extra tall domes is letting the batter rest at room temperature for one hour. This gives the starch molecules from the the flour enough time to absorb the moisture from the wet ingredients, resulting in a thicker batter. Moreover, the gluten relaxes, giving the batter a structure that’s able to support an impressive dome. The result is a mountainous muffin top with a light and fluffy interior!
Fill ’em up! – Another key that’s crucial for creating those gorgeously risen tops, is filling the muffin tin cavities with more batter. Most recipes instruct you to fill them up just 2/3 of the way, but if you want to achieve more height and volume, fill the cavities ALL the way to the top. Don’t worry about the batter spilling over because the next tip will prevent that from happening.
Start the Oven on High – Bake your muffins at 425°F for the first 5 minutes, then drop the temperature to 375°F for the remainder of the bake time. This method causes the leavening agents (especially baking powder) in the batter to react quicker, allowing the muffins to shoot up in height quickly.
For those of you who prefer the smaller standard-size muffins, simply bake the muffins at 425ºF for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF and bake for an additional 13-14 minutes. You should end up with 17-18 muffins. However if I’m being honest, it’s REALLY tough to beat a giant fluffy muffin that’s bursting with blueberries.
Just sayin’…
The Best Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cup yogurt (I used peach-flavored)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups fresh blueberries, divided
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, it’ll start to foam, then turn a clear golden color. Continue to stir the butter, scraping up any browned specks from the bottom of the pan as it starts to brown. It should have a nutty aroma.
- Once browned and nutty, turn off the heat and pour the browned butter into a shallow bowl, allowing it to cool for at least 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until combined; set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk both sugars and the eggs together until thickened and combined, about 45 seconds. Whisk in the browned butter and oil. Add the yogurt, vanilla, and almond extract, and continue whisking until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until almost combined. Genly fold in 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. Batter should still be lumpy with a few spots of flour. Allow batter to rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Spray a jumbo muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray, or line with paper liners.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, filling all the way to the top. Push the remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries into the tops of the muffins.
- Bake at 425ºF for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF and continue to bake for another 24-27 minutes until muffin tops are golden. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes