These blueberry muffins were so dreamy. Cake-y and moist with pockets of blueberry jammy goodness and a crispy sugary top.
Recently, I was plagued by a mad craving for muffins. Mike and I were on a walk and I had a muffin emergency. We hopped into a random bakery and I couldn’t decide which muffin so I asked Mike what his go-to muffin choice was. He very decisively said, “blueberry.” I asked why and it turns out that Mike used to exclusively bake blueberry muffins when he went through a blueberry muffin phase. He practically knew a muffin recipe by heart (this one) and it turned out to be so good I had to share.
Who is Jordan Marsh
I was determined to make the muffins that Mike made in his youth, so after a quick google search, he determined that they were the Jordan Marsh muffins. It turns out, Jordan Marsh’s blueberry muffins are famous. Very famous, in fact. Jordan Marsh was a fancy New England department store with a flagship store in downtown Boston. That flagship store had a bakery on the top floor that was famous for blueberry muffins. They were gigantic, addictive, and worthy of making pilgrimages for.
How to make blueberry muffins
- Cream the butter and sugar until light. Add the egg, beating well. Add the vanilla.
- Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder
- Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternating with the milk: flour milk, flour, milk, ending on flour.
- Fold in the blueberries.
- Line a standard muffin tin with 6 liners, and fill equally with the batter.
- Sprinkle sanding sugar over the tops of the muffins,
- Bake at 375ºF for 30-35 minutes, or until the tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove muffins from the tin, cool, and enjoy!
What is sanding sugar?
Sanding sugar is coarse heat resistant sugar that you can use to add a crunchy texture and a little extra sweetness to cookies, muffins, and other desserts. While it’s not absolutely essential, it definitely makes this recipe. You can find sanding sugar at most grocery stores, Michaels/other craft stores, and of course, online.
When is blueberry season?
Blueberry season is different depending on where you live. In the southern parts of the USA, peak blueberry season is May to July and gradually goes longer as you go up north. Washington, Oregon, and BC blueberries can extend well into October. In the winter blueberries come from south of the equator which adds to pricing, and you might want to use frozen blueberries instead. If you do, thaw them out for about 15 min and roll them in flour so they won’t turn the batter purple.
Wild vs cultivated blueberries
Most blueberries at the store are cultivated blueberries (highbush), which are great. But, if you see them, wild blueberries (lowbush) are amazing: more flavorful and contain more anti-oxidants. Give them a try!
Muffin Tins
PS – I couldn’t find our muffin pan but made do with these little individual tins that I have that turned out to be perfect. To be honest, they kind of work just like a muffin pan but better because they stack. I also played around with using parchment paper instead of regular muffin papers and that worked too. I can’t decide which I like better but it’s nice to know that I can make muffins even if I don’t have the papers.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter room temp
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup blueberries washed and dried
- 1 tbsp coarse sanding sugar or as desired, for topping
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Cream the butter and sugar until light. Add the egg, beating well. Add the vanilla.
- Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder, and add to the creamed mixture alternating with the milk: flour, milk, flour, milk, ending on flour.
- Fold in the blueberries.
- Line a standard muffin tin with 6 liners, and fill equally with the batter. Sprinkle the sanding sugar over the tops of the muffins.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean. Remove muffins from tin, cool, and enjoy!
I hope frozen blueberries will work, yes?? I am so hungry for a blueberry muffin, been craving!
i haven’t tried with frozen but i think they will work!
They’ll work, but thaw them first and dry them, otherwise they’ll turn the batter purple, won’t rise as high, and may take longer to bake. Still yummy though! I still have the original recipe that makes 1 dozen from their bakery when JM closed. The best! You can also swap out other fruit.
I make these all the time I am from New England and remember Jordan Marsh muffins Frozen ones are fine the only thing I do is mix them around in flour before I put them in the batter
And I only let them defrost for 15 minutes
yummy recipe. added a touch of
lemon zest.
thanks!
Hello, should it be unsalted butter or salted butter?
hi tracey,
unsalted!
I just made these and oh boy are they tasty! I added 2tbsps. more (almond) milk to make them lighter, 1/2 cup more of blueberries, about 1tbsp. of lemon juice to make each one the perfect summer treat. Can’t wait for the hubby to try them!
Disclaimer:
I used a cupcake tin and lightly oiled the inside of each cup.
yay! happy to hear it works with almond milk :)
Just made these today (in spite of the heat wave) and had to thank you! I finally found an amazing blueberry muffin recipe! : ) These are so gorgeous from the crunchy, craggy, brown tops to the soft and tender interior. Yay!! This made my day…and now I must make the banana version. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the summer!
yay! so happy that they turned out perfect :) hope you’re keeping cool with the heatwave!
I made these and they turned out amazing! My husband loved them! They come out light and moist on the inside with a little crisp on the outside. This will be my no fail recipe. Definitely recommended!!!
This looks like a good blueberry muffin recipe, but it is not the original Jordan Marsh blueberry muffin recipe. Vanilla wasn’t used in the Jordan Marsh recipe.
I have this recipe passed on to me buy my Mom
I grew up on the NH coast and we used to drive into Boston (1 hr) frequently to shop at Filene’s basement and Jordan Marsh. We always brought home a box of “marshy”muffins! So delicious! I have the original recipe for 12 muffins as published in Yankee magazine and it does include vanilla!
amazing :) thanks for the clarification
These came out so good! My new favorite blueberry muffin recipe. Thank you!