Lemony Yogurt Muffins with Blueberries | Baking with Dorie

Muffins with a lot of blueberries folded into them are Dorie’s go-to as well as her template for fruit muffins. I love blueberry muffins and I’m a student of the different approaches which make these muffins great. On top of that, this is the season for blueberries, especially the wild ones. Don’t mind eating a lot of blueberries and test-baking bunch of them while in season.

As the name of Dorie’s recipe of lemony yogurt muffins implies, there is lemon and there is yogurt. (In my mind, the bigger story is the yugurt.) She calls them the “backbone” ingredients. Yogurt adds sharp flavor and tenderizes the batter and lemon zest has always been a natural companion.

I follow Dorie’s recipe for lemony yogurt muffins and use one-and-a-half cups of blueberries (relative to two cups of flour, two-third cup of sugar, two eggs and one stick of butter). Combining that with another three-quarter cup of yogurt, you get a fairly wet batter. The end result is more than a “tender” muffin. It tips the balance to the realm of being too moist — if there’s such a thing. Or perhaps, the muffins should be baked longer than 18 minutes.

There are a few well-publicized and widely circulated blueberry muffins recipes out there which have piqued my interest for a long time. One is the Boston’s Ritz-Carlton blueberry muffins which the hotel has been serving some version of it since it opened in 1927. Another one is the Jordan Marsh’s blueberry muffins which was adapted from the cookbook, “The New England Economical Housekeeper, and Family Receipt Book,” by Esther Howland in 1847. These recipes have withstood the test of time and a lot of bakers have made them in one form or another to good results.

The battle for the greatest blueberry muffins is ongoing and is unlikely to settle anytime soon. Meanwhile, I’m still searching and have never quite stopped tinkering with different recipes. One thing for sure: I like a crusty muffin. Specifically, I look for the muffin top to be prominent and crispy as well as the blueberries being the star ingredients.

Side notes: to help keep your blueberries from sinking to the bottom, toss the berries in flour before adding them to the batter. The coating helps suspend them better during baking. For fat muffin tops, fill the muffin molds to the rim and sprinkle sanding sugar generously on top. Bake until deep golden brown throughout and crusty on the top. Skip the icing or serve it like a dip on the side so the top will remain crispy.