Hi all! I hope you’re all staying healthy through the winter! I’m on the tail end of a cold, but luckily I’m still perfectly capable of baking! Today, I have a recipe for Blueberry Lemon Muffins, created by the Food Network’s own Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten). I thought and thought about how I could change her recipe and make my own twist on it, but after quite a bit of pondering, I decided “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” The only change I made was to double the recipe- pretty creative, I know. Don’t worry though, I will definitely be adding my own input about the science behind the muffins! So, true to the original recipe, here are the ingredients for these scrumptious muffins:

Ingredients: 

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (this can be used interchangeably with the brown sugar and vice versa- whatever you have, use it!)
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 sticks butter, melted
• 2 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pint fresh blueberries, washed and dried

First, preheat the oven to 425ºF. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the butter, milk, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and blueberries.

Now, in a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, into which you will pour the wet ingredients.

Here comes the important part- pour the wet ingredients into the well of dry ingredients, and then stir gently, just until the ingredients are mixed and no further. Really, only 15 or so turns with the spoon should be sufficient. Just get the dry ingredients fully moistened.

Here’s the food science part of this: When water comes in contact with flour, two proteins (gliadin and glutenin) in flour combine to form the protein complex known as gluten. This gluten formation will lead to a sticky, doughy mass that makes great bread- but not great muffins. If you stir the mixture too much before baking it, the gluten formation will create chewy, hugely risen muffins with holes in them. Instead, this minimal mixing (known as the “Muffin Method”) will create soft, cakey, perfect muffins. 

Now, portion the muffin mix into muffin tins. This recipe will make about 24 muffins, give or take a few. Sprinkle each portion of batter with a generous helping of raw sugar, or really whatever sugar you prefer. This will give the muffin tops a great sweetness and crunch to offset the tanginess of the lemon and blueberries.

Put them in the oven and immediately drop the oven temperature to 375ºF. This lower oven temperature will prevent uneven browning and overbaking, but the lingering heat will still allow the muffin tops to become firm. Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, and then remove them from the oven and let them sit in the muffin tins for about 2 minutes. Then, dump them out onto a wire cooling rack to ensure that they get full air circulation during the whole cooling process, to prevent a soggy muffin bottom.

And then you’re free to eat! These are absolutely delicious served warm, but are also great as a snack the next day. The flavors are light and sweet, and the fresh fruit gives these muffins a pop of freshness and tartness that pairs perfectly with the crispy sugar on top. I hope you give these muffins a try, because they are soooo yummy! Props to Ina Garten for being a wonderful baker and chef, and I hope you enjoy her recipe as much as I did. Happy baking!