Brunch - Berry Buttermilk Muffins

Brunch - Berry Buttermilk Muffins

Posted by Brit

A while back (before it got cold again) you could see signs of spring everywhere.  One of my favorite places this time of year is the produce section.  There are new varieties of apples, bigger oranges, and more berries.  While the berry price doesn't drop 'til early summer it's a good thing to splurge on when I am in a warm weather mood.  Luckily the writer at EzraPoundCake feels the same way about berries as I do.  A couple of years ago I found her Berry Buttermilk Muffins recipe and fell in love.  They have come out excellent every time I've made them.  The last couple of times I've made a couple of my own tweaks to her recipe, which she actually adapted from Janie Hilber's book, The Berry Bible.  For $11 I am tempted to buy this book too.

Berry Buttermilk Muffins

Oven: 400 degrees
Yield: 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS

• Ground cinnamon for sprinkling
• 1/2 C. sugar, plus sugar for sprinkling
• 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
• 1  1/4 C. whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 C. buttermilk
• 1  1/4 C. fresh berry mix (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc.)

The two main differences in my version of the recipe are that I use whole wheat flour and that I use fresh berries.  I like the heartier flavor that whole wheat flour lends and I just feel like these bake up better with fresh (vs. frozen) berries.  I also enjoy the juiciness of fresh berries.  Now, I shop at Dillons and they actually sell fresh pre-mixed berries that are perfect for this recipe.  I get mixed berries without spending a ton on four different cartons of berries.  If you shop somewhere that this is not an option I would recommend choosing two berries that you really like and buying a small carton of each.  Wash them first, and dry them on paper towels before putting into your muffin batter. 

1.  Preheat your oven and either a) grease your muffin pan or b) place paper muffin cups in your pan and spray with light cooking oil spray.  Then sprinkle your cinnamon/sugar mixture in the muffin pan/cups.

2.  Sift together 1/2 C. of all-purpose flour, all of whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Cut in cold butter, if you only have salted butter don't add the coarse salt to the recipe.

3.  In a separate bowl mix your egg and buttermilk.  I have used a buttermilk substitute (1 C. whole milk and 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice; Combine and let stand for 5 minutes) but real buttermilk works best!  Combine the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until moist.  Batter will be lumpy.

4.  Gently mix berries with remaining 1/4 C. of all purpose flour, then slowly combine into batter.

5.  Pour batter into muffin tin.  You can sprinkle more cinnamon sugar mix on top if you'd like.  Bake for 15 minutes and then check with a toothpick.  Bake time may be as long as 25 minutes, but if just depends on how cold your berries are when you start baking.

When you're done, serve with mimosas.