True Blue American–The Blueberry
Muffin
by Nancy Baggett
“As American as blueberry muffins!” isn’t
the way the old saying goes, but it should be. For one thing,
blueberries are North American natives, while apples were brought
here from Asia and Europe. And, unlike apple pie, which originated
in Britain, blueberry muffins are a true-blue American invention,
still made and enjoyed almost exclusively in the United States.
(Canadians do bake them, too.)
Blueberry muffins are a great example of how American cooks
took an Old World culinary
concept and created something all their own. Both the basic idea
and the word “muffin” originated from a British tradition
of small, individually formed breads. (An old English song celebrates
“the muffin man, who lives on Drury Lane.”) Those
early muffins were plain, flat yeast breads similar to what we
Americans now call English muffins. Most often, they
were shaped by baking a yeast bread batter in metal rings on a
griddle, or in separate shallow tins placed in a Dutch oven or
deep pan. The sidebar on the right shows a recipe for this early
type of muffin; it appeared in the 1839 American cookbook, The
Kentucky Housewife.
The arrival of baking soda and, later, baking powder in the
1800s suddenly made major baking innovations possible: American
homemakers could finally lighten up and aerate their breads without
using yeast. They began experimenting and substituting the much
quicker and easier to use chemical leavening agents in the traditional
English-style muffin recipes that were already in their repertoires.
Their first non-yeast versions contained no sugar, fruit, or spice,
and tasted similar to baking powder biscuits (though they were
often baked in individual gem or muffin pans and looked more or
less like modern American muffins).
By the end of the century, our new chemically leavened muffins
were beginning to change even more. The first edition of Fannie
Farmer’s Boston Cooking-School Cook Book in 1896 included
several muffin recipes calling for a little molasses or sugar.
The 1905 edition contained a recipe calling for both 1/4 cup sugar
and 1cup of berries (the berry variety wasn’t specified).
Gradually, during the next twenty years, even sweeter, tenderer,
lighter, and more cake-like muffins–including ones with
blueberries–began appearing. The era of the modern American
muffin had arrived!
Good and Easy Blueberry Muffins
Of all the American-style muffins that cooks have devised, blueberry
muffins are probably the most popular. These are light, tender,
nicely puffed, and just slightly sweet, with a sugar garnish that
gives them a little crunch on top.
Now that fresh blueberries are beginning to appear in our markets,
it’s a particularly good time to try this recipe. Fresh
berries tend to yield more attractive muffins than frozen ones,
because they hold their shape and don’t turn the batter
blue. However, frozen berries will work fine if you add them before
they are completely thawed and thoroughly pat them dry with paper
towels first.
Tip: The following recipe calls 1/4 cup sour cream, but if you
wish, you can substitute 1/4 cup plain, unsweetened yogurt instead.
Either product helps keep the muffins tender and moist.
2 1/4 cups all-purpose white flour
1 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup whole or low-fat milk
1 large egg
1/4 cup regular or light (not non-fat) sour cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups fresh or partially thawed (and blotted dry) frozen
blueberries
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease 12 standard-sized muffin
tin cups or coat with non-stick spray. (Or, use paper muffin cup
liners, if desired.)
Thoroughly stir together flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder,
baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a 1-quart saucepan,
melt the butter over medium heat. Remove pan from heat; stir in
milk. Then, using a fork, beat in egg and vanilla until well blended.
Add milk mixture and sour cream to flour mixture, stirring until
just until dry ingredients are evenly moistened and incorporated;
don't overmix or the batter can toughen. Gently stir in blueberries
just until distributed evenly.
Using a 1/2-cup measure or large spoon, immediately divide batter
among 10 to 12 muffin cups; the cups should be almost full. Sprinkle
tops with reserved 1 tablespoon sugar, dividing it among them.
Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until the muffins are tinged with
gold on top and springy to the touch; a toothpick inserted into
the thickest part should come out clean. Cool on wire rack 3 or
4 minutes; if no paper liners were used, gently run a knife around
cups and remove muffins from their cups. Let stand until cooled.
They are best when fresh, but can be kept airtight for a day or
so.
Makes 10 or 12 standard-sized muffins.
