Blueberry Muffins

Ina Garten knows her baking. Out of the recipes I have tried of hers (Date and Nut Bread, Banana Bread among a few) none have failed. So I highly recommend making these right away! The muffins are soft and spongy with a nice slightly crusty top. 


My mistake I made was overfilling the cups, which caused for muffin 'tops' to create. 


Simple baking rules is to follow the recipe exactly, measure the measurements perfectly and to not over mix. Keep a timer when you put the muffins in the oven but keep an eye on your muffins as every oven is slightly different. Use an oven thermometer if you aren't sure of the temperature of your oven. 


CompulsiveFoodie.com bakes a lot of Ina Garten's recipes, and raves about them too. Check out her blog to find more of Ina's recipes tried and tested by a home cook.


Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups buttermilk, shaken
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups fresh blueberries (2 half-pints)


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners.


Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and mix together. 


In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, butter, lemon zest, and eggs.


Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork just until blended.


Fold the blueberries into the batter. Don't over mix!


With a standard (2 1/4-inch) ice cream scoop or large spoon, scoop the batter into the prepared cups, filling them almost full.


Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.