award-winning blueberry muffins

These are our favorite blueberry muffins, bar none. Tender inside, with a crunchy sugar crust on the top. Scrumptious! They're perfect for the weekend - or anytime you want something yummy to go with your cup of coffee (or tea, or water, or whatever!)

We found this recipe years ago when it won a New York Times contest for the best blueberry muffins. Supposedly, the recipe beat out over 1,000 entries. Might be an urban legend. We don't know. We just know they're the best blueberry muffins we ever tasted.

You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe. We found that frozen blueberries don't sink as much as fresh and taste just as good - if not better. We've heard that rolling your berries in flour or cornstarch keep them from sinking. It never worked for us (another urban legend??) . 

So make these any time, any season. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting until they cool!

​Recipe makes 12 muffins.

ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1-1/4 cup granulated sugar + additional 3 Tablespoons for sprinkling 
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk, room temperature
• 1 pint blueberries (1/4 cup crushed with fork). Fresh or frozen (do not thaw)

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directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Using your stand mixer fitted with SideSwipe or your flat beater, cream together butter and 1-1/4 cup butter until light and fluffy.
4. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture a little at a time, alternating with a little of the milk. Mix on low speed just until moistened/combined.
5. Mix in 1/4 pint crushed blueberries at lowest speed, just until distributed. Remove bowl from mixer.
6. Fold in remaining whole blueberries.
7. Grease and flour 12 standard muffin cups. Divide batter between the cups. Muffins achieve the crunchiest texture if you don't use paper liners.
8. Sprinkle the tops with the 3 Tablespoons of sugar.
9. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, until tops are golden brown and pick comes out clean.
10. Cool in the muffin pan for at least 30 minutes before removing.