Dueling Blueberry Muffin Recipes

This morning, because we are practically swimming in blueberries and I was in a mood to bake, I decided to make both recipes and compare, contrast, and crown a winner.

In one corner, we have Andrea’s Blueberry Muffins, which I made first for no particular reason.

Flourishing Mother’s Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 1/4 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 cups of unbleached white flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/4 cup milk

2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1/4 cup white sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour muffin pans, or use paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix.

3. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk. Fold in berries.

4. Fill muffin cups and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Yes. All of it.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

 

Serve warm and pretty to your family for breakfast or after-dinner snack.

Andrea's Blueberry Muffins, up close and tantalizing

Andrea's blueberry muffins strike a pose, hoping to cause spontaneous salivation.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the eggs, half and half, oil, and extract. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Fill greased jumbo muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Note: 16 regular-size muffin cups may be used; bake for 18-20 minutes.

And here are the results:

Lisa's Lemon Blueberry Muffins in soft, flattering lighting seek to tempt readers with their beauty.

And to be fair, here is another shot of these muffins for you to consider:

An aerial view of Lisa's Lemon Blueberry Muffins--readers are ready to swoop down and devour.

After tasting first Andrea’s, then Lisa’s, and Andrea’s again and then, you know, to be equal and just in my judging, I had another of Lisa’s. And then I started to feel kind of squishy and Pillsbury Doughboy-ish and decided I had enough information to report back to my readers.

And then after all the sugar and carbohydrates raced through my system, I crashed and took a short nap in the hammock.

Now, groggily but quite content with these dessert-quality treats, I have to say I loved them both. I did. I loved them both in different ways.

Lisa’s Lemon Blueberry Muffins seemed a bit fluffier and of course had the subtle taste-zip of the lemon. They seemed almost like something from a bakery. Yum.

Andrea’s Blueberry Muffins were slightly less fluffy–in fact, when I mixed the batter, I was surprised at how thick it was…almost more like cookie dough than muffin batter. They were delicious, packed with berries per her measurements.

Perhaps Andrea’s would have squeaked past Lisa’s and secured a win in the Blueberry Muffin duel, had I remembered to sprinkle the sugar on top.

Or perhaps, had I eaten a Lemon Blueberry Muffin first, Andrea’s would have seemed bland by comparison.

I’m not sure.

So it’s a tie.

If you love blueberry muffins, and want a cake-like, fluffy, dessert-y treat, you can’t go wrong with either recipe. They are both utterly delicious. Mouth-watering. Delectable. I asked for a home-run recipe and ended up with two home runs.

Thank you, ladies, for your excellent recommendations!

We have enough muffins to host a tea, so I’m going to invite my neighbor over. Blueberry muffins and tea on the back porch with a friend on a summer afternoon.

Sounds perfect.

(Note: If you want a hearty, healthy, whole-wheat muffin with added flax seed that’s sweetened with honey, um, you’d better try a different recipe search. These white-flour, refined-sugar muffins are not for you.)