Blueberry Muffins for Jim

I was out of town for three days last week and itching to get back in the kitchen. We had a full weekend planned too, chores that needed to be done Saturday morning, guests coming in Saturday night. Jim’s working a lot these days too, balancing a demanding job and school full time so I wanted to do something really special for just him since my time is going to be split in many different directions. He has endured my lavender scone weekend, the boozey french toast weekend…but never have I made him homemade blueberry muffins and those my friends, are his favorite. Sure, I’ve bought the mix at the grocery store where you add an egg and some vegetable oil….but those are no match for Ina Garten’s Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins. They have sour cream in them. Yum!

Because I love easy Saturday mornings as much as anyone else, I actually mixed the dough the night before and refrigerated overnight. In the morning all I did was scoop the dough into muffin cups and baked them fresh. Because the dough was cold, it took an extra 10 minutes or so in the oven, but these turned out great. The recipe actually made two dozen blueberry muffins so I sent six home with my out of town guests, and took another dozen to the office with me.


Here is what you need:
A KITCHEN AID MIXER (Which Jim is getting me for Bday or Christmas!)
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 2 half-pints fresh blueberries
Be sure to pick through your blueberries for stems (like this one).
My butter was not at room temperature so I stuck it in the microwave to help it along.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Toss the blueberries in a little flour, according to Ina this helps them bounce around in the dough rather than sink to the bottom of each muffin.

Just a nice light coating.
Line your muffin pans, or you could use these super cool individual silicone baking cups. (Wouldn't these make a really cute stocking stuffer?)
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
This is what light and fluffy looks like.
With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla,

Sour cream,
And milk.
With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. I added a cup at a time.


Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

This is my one halloween muffin cup. All the others were pastel - probably left over from a baby shower I threw for a friend.

These were so moist and the perfect amount of sweetness. Eating these warm with a small pat of butter - decadent!