15 February 2018

Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins

Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins ( this photo - 6 muffins on a white ceramic tray) / www.delightfulrepast.com

Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins should not, to my mind, have half flour and half cornmeal; that ratio is for cornbread muffins. I don’t want sweet cornbread with berries in it. I like just enough cornmeal to give the muffins a little something extra in the flavor and texture department.

So, while these muffins have some cornmeal, they retain the lightness a blueberry muffin should have. And my recipe has the maximum amount of sugar I like in muffins. Know what I call muffins with more sugar than this? Cupcakes!

If you want unsullied batter, you must use fresh blueberries. I’ve tried every trick in the book to keep frozen blueberries from turning the batter blue and, while some work better than others, none of them really work. But when blueberries aren’t in season, I use frozen but not thawed.


Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins / www.delightfulrepast.com


Not keen on blueberries? Or cornmeal? Here are a few other muffin recipes that might be more to your liking: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Small-Batch Banana Muffins, Raspberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze.

I clearly like lemon, so why no lemon zest in the Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins, you might ask. The flavor of the small amount of cornmeal is very subtle and, I think, easily overwhelmed by the addition of lemon.

Muffins are always best while still warm from the oven, so I often make just 6 rather than 12. This recipe is super simple to cut in half even for those of us who aren't mathematics geniuses.

What's your favorite muffin? And favorite beverage to go with it?



Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins / www.delightfulrepast.com


Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins


(Makes 12 standard size muffins)

2 teaspoons cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Milk to make 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces/177 ml) milk
1 1/3 dip-and-sweep cups (6.67 ounces/189 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 dip-and-sweep cup (2.5 ounces/71 grams) fine stone ground yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup (3.5 ounces/99 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons non-GMO baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon mace or nutmeg

6 tablespoons (3 ounces/85 grams) unsalted butter, coarsely shredded or cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups* (6.25 ounces/177 grams) blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw!)

* You don’t have to, but I like to set aside about 3 dozen berries to put on top after I’ve filled the muffin cups, just to make sure some pretty berry-ness shows.

1 Preheat oven to 400F/205C/Gas6. Grease a standard 12-muffin tin or line it with paper bake cups. 

2 In 2-cup glass measure, stir together vinegar or lemon juice and milk; set aside to thicken a bit.

3 In large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and mace or nutmeg. Take out 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture to coat the berries before adding them to the batter. Work in the butter with your fingertips until the flour mixture looks like coarse meal or rice.

4 Add eggs and vanilla extract to soured milk; whisk until combined. Add thoroughly whisked wet mixture to thoroughly whisked dry mixture. Stir as little as possible, just until dry ingredients are moistened. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold in the berries.

5 Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop the batter from the edge of the bowl so as not to further mix the batter and evenly fill the 12 muffin cups just about to the top. With spoon or spatula, get every drop of batter out of the bowl. I hate waste; so I calculate all my recipes so that there is no leftover batter. 

6 Bake for about 20 (with fresh berries) to 25 minutes (with frozen berries) or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in a center muffin comes out clean. Let stand in tin on wire rack for 5 minutes, then turn muffins out onto wire rack to cool for a few more minutes before serving. 

64 comments:

Louca por porcelana said...

They look delicious!I would love to have one just now...Hugs,Jean!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Maristella!

Zaa said...

Hey Jean ...I just love to sample one of those muffin right now with my tea..Thanks and I hope that you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day >>>Hugs

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Zaa, thank you. How well I like something is always determined by how well it goes with tea! :D

Antiques And Teacups said...

I enjoy blueberry muffins any way they come, and make them cornmeal or not, depending on whim. Yours looks like a wonderful recipe I will try this week. Thanks for linking to Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Ruth

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Ruth, I'm with you - any way they come! I hope you'll like this one!

Thomas "Sully" Sullivan said...

(Don’t do it, Sully…don’t fall for it…she’s baiting you – “unsullied batter” – aaargh! SURRENDER!)

Well, I’m gonna give you the recipe for “sullied batter” anyway, ‘cause you asked for favs. OK, here goes: mix standard cupcake batter from directions on box. Add sugar. Add more sugar. Bake. Mix frosting in ratio of 3:1 to size of cupcake. Yeah, one cupcake on account of my cupcake sheet is a bowl. Celebratory trumpet blast when finished. 5 Cleavers! Postscript: feed cupcake to birds while eating frosting off top.

Marilyn Miller said...

Thanks for visiting me at Delights of the Heart. Oh, I adore blueberry muffins and yours look so good.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Must admit, Sully, I thought of you, but only *after* I had typed the word "unsullied." I have made the following "hostess" note: If Sully comes to dine, give him a bowl of frosting.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Always a pleasure, Marilyn. I think you'll like these.

ellen b. said...

Thanks for going before us with all these good tips.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Ellen. I'm still, after all these years, picking up tips along the way, so I figure other people might appreciate them as well.

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Hello Jean! Your muffins look simply wonderful and I like the idea of adding a few berries on top to make them pretty! I love a good muffin and I love blueberry as well as cornmeal so I will be making these. I have been craving muffins lately but haven't been able to make them. {CTS} I'm thinking I may ask my hubby to stir the batter for me and scoop out the batter into muffin cups. This recipe sounds like a real winner! When I get them made, I will let you know how they turned out. Thank you for another lovely recipe.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Sandi! I'll look forward to hearing how they turned out. My husband's the one in our family with CTS; hope you both get better soon!

TONY said...

"Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins." They look delicious, Jean. They sound delicious and I am sure the texture and the smell are epic!! It seems to me there is a lot of mathematics in this recipe, apart from the weights and measures. There are six muffins, some have three blueberries and one has four blueberries. The six muffins are set on a rectangular tray. I can think of a great mathematics lesson for year 4 ( 8 year old children in England) involving geometry; rectangles, right angles, perimeters and number work; multiples of 3,6 and 4. They would love throwing a dice to decide on the number of blueberries. All the best, Tony

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Tony! You sound like Mr Delightful -- he's the mathematician in our family!

Angie's Recipes said...

A little cornmeal goes a long way! These muffins turned out beautiful and very inviting with those berries atop.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Angie. "A little cornmeal goes a long way" - that's a great way to put it!

Cranberry Morning said...

They look wonderful, Jean. Actually, I don't mind the batter turning blue, but I'm not a fan of corn meal. Maybe it's just not as big a thing here in NW Wisconsin. :-)

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Judy! I like just enough cornmeal in the batter to give the muffins a slight crunch.

Richard Sheppard said...

Muffins, muffins, I love muffins! These look and sound delicious just as you've done them. When I run out of carrot muffins I have in the freezer, I'll whip up a batch of these! Mmmmmmm!

Bernideen said...

Something yummy to bake - perfect!!! Lovely as always too Jean!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Richard, thank you. Hope you like them as much as we do!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Bernideen, sometimes I'm too tired to cook, but I'm never too tired to bake! :D

Phil in the Kitchen said...

Lovely. I completely agree about the flour to cornmeal ratio and the issues with using frozen blueberries. Personally, I don't really mind a sullied batter but everyone else I know seems to disagree. There's something alien about blue (or sort of blue) food, I suppose.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Phil. If we agree, then we must be right about the ratio! I don't mind eating the sloppier looking blue muffins, but I do prefer to make them pretty.

Margie said...

I like fruit muffins such as your blueberry muffins the best! Of course, I enjoy them with a cup of tea.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Of course you do, Margie! And I quite agree!

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

Blueberry muffins are a favorite in our home, Jean. Your's look delicious and the addition of the cornmeal sounds nice. I will give them a try. I like your idea of placing the little jewels on top! Along with afternoon tea, I'm sure they would be a hit. ♥

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Martha. Let me know how they turn out for you.

Gerlinde de Broekert said...

I don’t remember the last time I made muffins. You inspire me to try these , they look wonderful and I can imagine eating them slathered with butter and honey .

Jeanie said...

I love blueberry muffins and corn muffins too. Saving this one for summer when Michigan blueberries are plentiful!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Gerlinde, "slathered" - I love the sound of that! Especially when you're talking butter!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Mmm ... Michigan blueberries ... and if you tell me you'll be picking your own, Jeanie, I'm going to be so envious!

Marisa Franca @ Allourway said...

We certainly love our blueberries and when they're in season we buy 5# boxes of them and freeze those little globes of goodness. I think I'd like your muffin with the cornmeal in it. I'll have to give it a try and I'd love the muffin in the afternoon with a bit of tea. I love coffee but I'm at the age where I'm caffeine sensitive. Tea is perfect for me. I do have the occasional cup of coffee but never in the afternoon. I'm pinning your recipe. Have a wonderful weekend. xoxo

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Marisa, thank you. Wish I could get blueberries in such quantities! I don't have any problem with the caffeine in tea (and I make strong tea), but I can't take the caffeine in coffee at all at any time of the day.

Unknown said...

I've never tried to cook with cornmeal Jean but I love the idea of the texture. Thanks for linking to #DreamTeam lovely x

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Dawn. You really must pick some up and give it a try! It's good for lots of things.

Cocoa and Lavender said...

Cornmeal in cakes and muffins is a wonderful addition! As you say, and I was just a little something extra. I love the crunch!

Mrs Shoes said...

For some reason I have always wanted SO very much to love cornbread; maybe it's the way Southerners pay homage to it that keeps drawing me back. But no matter how many recipes I've tried, Mr Shoes just doesn't like the texture, and so I've had an enormous jar of cornmeal for years. I dust a bit under homemade pizza crust, & I have one white bread recipe that calls for a 1/4 cornmeal + honey that everyone, including Mr Shoes, appreciates. I am definitely going to try out your recipe for these wonderful sounding muffins! I may not be able to convert Mr Shoes into a full on cornbread lover, but I can sure keep trying recipes & ways to incorporate cornmeal a little at a time.

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

I love most any kind of muffin, Jean, and your blueberry cornmeal look exceptionally beautiful, and I'm sure, delicious. They would be wonderful with a cup of tea. Thank you for the recipe. I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day! ❤

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

And in cookies, David, though I've never tried it. When I was in high school a girl brought some homemade cornmeal cookies. I rather liked them and always intended to make some, but haven't yet! And high school was a while ago. :D

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Interesting, Mrs Shoes - we all have our little quirks about food! I really hope you'll make this recipe and let me know how Mr Shoes liked it.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Kitty. Maybe you and Cissy will give them a try?! :-)

Polly said...

Blueberry muffins are my favourites with lemon coming a very close second :-)

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

I agree! Lemon is just about my favorite flavor *any*thing!

April J Harris said...

I agree, Jean, so many muffins have far too much sugar. Half a cup is perfect for these! I'm a huge fan of blueberry muffins and I like the idea of adding texture with the cornmeal. Thank you so much for sharing these yummy breakfast treats with us at the Hearth and Soul Link Party. I hope to 'see' you again this week. Have a lovely week!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, April. And you'll definitely 'see' me again this week! :-)

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

I so appreciate that you limit the amount of sugar in your recipes, Jean! The cornmeal sounds like a wonderful addition. I do love blueberry muffins, but I also love poppy-seed muffins, especially with a hot cup of Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee! Yum! Thank you for another great recipe. Hope you have a wonderful week! x Karen

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Karen, thank you. I always hope I'm not mentioning it too much, but I've been cutting the sugar in everything I make for decades and think it's one of the best things we can do for ourselves. There was a recipe tweeted yesterday for apple muffins that, between the 2 cups of apple cider and 3/4 cup of sugar IN the muffins and another 3/4 cup ON the muffins, each muffin had 3 tablespoons of sugar - instead of the 2 teaspoons in these!

Fran @ Gday Souffle said...

Nice tip about using unthawed frozen blueberries in your muffins- to avoid the batter turning blue. Adding just a little cornmeal gives your muffins just a little crunch without making them too dense! Thanks!

Karen (Back Road Journal) said...

Your muffins sound just right, a perfect way to start the day with a cup of tea.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Fran! Of course, even unthawed, frozen blueberries will usually bleed a little, but not nearly as much.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Karen, thank you. Wish I had one this morning!

Kitchen Riffs said...

What a wonderful recipe! I've had plenty of blueberry muffins (who hasn't?), but never with cornmeal. Great idea! Thanks.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, John. I think you'll like them - I hope!

handmade by amalia said...

Just the sort of recipe I like, would be nice for a morning or afternoon's treat with a cup of tea.
Amalia
xo

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Amalia. The flavors go beautifully with tea!

Annette, 3 Little Buttons said...

Hi Jean! These look scrummy. Blueberry muffins are a firm favourite here. Are cornmeal muffins quite different from the usual sweet muffins? I don't think I have seen these before. Thanks for joining us for the #DreamTeam x

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Annette! The cornmeal adds a subtle flavor and a bit of crunch that I think you'll really like.

Betsy said...

I love cornmeal muffins. Mom would never buy the cake muffins, she said they were not muffins. So I am used to the cornmeal and blueberries make it taste all the better.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

I'm glad to hear that, Betsy. I'm sure you, your mom and I aren't the only ones out there who prefer muffins!

Walking the Bean said...

Blueberry is my favorite for sure. However, anytime I bake {just about anything I try} seems to taste too baking soda-ish. Does it need to be sifted like all other other dry ingredients?

~Chris

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Chris, I've never had any of my own recipes taste baking soda-ish. But it will definitely give an odd flavor when too much is used. I rarely sift my dry ingredients, but I always whisk them together well, including the baking soda.