Blueberry Muffins

I have a personal gripe with most muffin recipes.  By design, muffins are supposed to be an easy quick bread.  They are often referred to as the "1-bowl" recipe.  And yet, so many muffin recipes require a stand mixer of all things.  Whenever a muffin recipe has directions that begin with "cream the butter..." or "combine the wet ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer..." I tend to look the other way.  It's not that those recipes aren't any good, it's the fact that muffins are supposed to be a quick, simple, throw together food that makes a great grab-and-go breakfast, not a delicate sit-down cake.  Unfortunately, the "muffins" you find in coffee shops these days are - more often than not - heavy, overly sweet confections better found in a cheap bakery.  Not that I'm complaining, or anything.

So when a dear friend of mine gave me a container of blueberries the other day (because she had bought too many...darn!), I was immediately drawn to whipping up a batch of muffins.  The problem is, I just didn't want a complicated, heavy, or overly sweet recipe.  I wanted something light and delicate without being, well, cakey.  And I wanted it to be simple.  One, two bowls, tops.  And I wanted to mix it with a spoon.  Not that I don't love my Kitchen-Aid, because I do, I just wanted to giver her a rest...she works very hard as it is.

So there I went on a quest for simple, hand-stirred blueberry muffins.  You would be surprised at how many recipes I read through before finding one that held promise.  You won't be surprised that the promising recipe came from America's Test Kitchen.  Goodness, I love those guys.  I wasn't a fan of the high fat content in their muffin (much as I'm sure it would taste delicious!), but I was sincerely intrigued by their mixing method (all by hand, of course).  And oh, they were wonderful.  So of course, the next time you have blueberries...or raspberries (yum!) be sure to check these out.

Blueberry Muffins
Adapted from Baking Illustrated

Note: the original recipe claims to get 12 muffins, but I got 18 with regular-sized muffin tins filled 3/4 of the way with batter.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 350 degrees F.  Grease a standard muffin tin or fill with muffin paper liners.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.  Whisk the egg in a medium bowl until well-combined and light colored, about 20 seconds.  Add sugar to egg mixture and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in three additions, whisking to combine after each addition.  Add yogurt in two additions, whisking just to combine.  Add dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula.  Do not over-mix.  Add berries all at once, and fold into final mixture until evenly distributed.

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way with batter.  Bake until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.  Let muffins cool on wire rack before eating.  Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature, however, they taste the best on the first day.