Marshy Muffins

These blueberry muffins use a clever trick: half a cup of the blueberries get mashed and stirred into the batter by hand. Those crushed berries bleed purple throughout the crumb and add concentrated fruit flavor in every bite, while the remaining whole berries burst into juicy pockets when you bake.

The batter is rich and cakey from creamed butter and sugar, not the lean, oil-based kind. Piling the batter high in each cup is deliberate. It creates those big, domed tops that spill over the edges, just like the ones in a bakery case.

A sprinkle of sugar on top before baking gives each muffin a crunchy, sparkly crust that cracks slightly as it rises.

Pro Tips

• Grease the top surface of the muffin pan, not just the cups. The batter piled high will spread across the flat surface and stick if it’s not greased.
• Mash the ½ cup of blueberries with a fork, not a blender. You want pieces, not juice.
• Cool in the pan for a full 30 minutes. These are tender and fragile when hot. Removing too early means broken muffins.
• Fold the whole berries in gently at the very end. Over-stirring breaks them and turns the batter gray.

Variations

• Add 1 tablespoon of lemon zest to the batter for a bright lemon-blueberry muffin.
• Swap ½ cup of the flour for almond flour for a nuttier, more tender crumb.
• Use frozen blueberries straight from the freezer (don’t thaw). They hold their shape better during mixing.