Thursday, January 29, 2015

The Best Blueberry Muffins Ever

The best blueberry muffin recipe ever! Perfectly moist with a tall, sparkly crown. Just one bowl! Plus muffin tips and troubleshooting!


Behold. The perfect blueberry muffin. After weeks of experimentation and tweaking, it's finally here. It is moist and fluffy, just as I dreamed it would be. It has the tall, perfectly cracked crown, sparkling with sugar. It even passed the squishy test, the perfect pillowy softness when lightly squeezed. Plus, it only dirties one bowl. 



 
If any of you are frequent readers, you know that I speak the truth that I've been on this muffin kick for a while. And if you follow on Instagram, you have seen first hand a small sampling of the ridiculous amount of muffins I have made during The Great Muffin Experiment of 2015. 
 



My sister Nemo and I have made such an obscene amount of muffins in the last couple weeks. It's really all a blur. I don't remember how it even started. Every day I would make multiple mini batches of muffins. I would only make two at a time, measuring out tablespoons of eggs so that I could bake just two at a time. Then we would let them cool, carefully dissect them, take notes, and then start all over again. 



 
On Monday, I came home from work and asked my sister if she had made any muffins while I was gone. I had gotten antsy sitting at my desk all day, daydreaming about The Great Muffin Experiment. I looked at her notes and made new adjustments and made another batch before I went to bed. 

On Tuesday, I was becoming discouraged. So many muffins. So many variables. Would we even recognize the perfect one now if we saw it?

"Listen, Yammie," said my wise, older sister, "All of the muffins we have made so far are better than any I've ever had. We can't give up now though, so close to the end. The perfect muffin is now within our reach. We will know it when we see it."

On Wednesday, we finally achieved our goal. I baked the full batch at long last. 

Later that day, Nemo texted me a picture of the muffins at Starbucks and said, "We win."
 



Tips for Baking the Perfect Blueberry Muffin

I suppose I should record here a few of our findings from The Great Muffin Experiment, even though now that I have this awesome recipe, I won't have to think about this stuff EVER AGAIN.

1. Sugar- If you've ever made muffins that have sunken in the middle and have a chewy top around the edge, too much sugar is most likely the culprit. Not enough sugar and, well... they won't be sweet.

2. Flour- Too much flour and muffins will be too dense. Adding more flour can also help add some height to your muffin though. 

3. Oil- Adding too much oil will make a greasy muffin. Oil stays liquid at room temp which means that it keeps your muffin moist, so make sure you have enough.

4. Baking powder- Don't think you can just add more baking powder to make your muffins taller. If the batter isn't thick enough, it will just cause them to spread so you have wide, flat-topped muffins. 

5. Sour Cream- Sour cream enhances the texture of the muffin and also adds flavor. Adding sour cream helps to add thickness to the batter without having to add extra flour. You can also use yogurt for the same effect. 

6. Temperatures- The temperature affects the rise and bake time of the muffin. Baking at 400ºF will give your muffin a good rise so you'll have nice tall muffins, but they might get too brown. Baking at 350ºF will give you shorter muffins that don't brown. We liked 375ºF the best for tall, golden brown muffins.

7. The Blueberries- Fresh blueberries are, of course, the best. You can use frozen though too, which is what I did for all of the experimentation. Frozen blueberries will increase bake time and may reduce the rise of the the muffin. I like to reserve some of the berries to press into the tops so they're visisble.

8. Filling the tin- How do you make a muffin with a tall crown? If your batter is thick enough, you should be able to fill the muffin tin to the very top. As the muffin rises, it will produce a tall crown that creeps over the edges, creating that familiar muffin top that we know and love. If your batter is too thin and you attempt to fill the muffin all the way, it will just run all over the place and will stick to the pan.
 
 

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93 comments:

  1. The squishy test ;) that's too cute. The muffins look so vibrant! They're gorgeous.

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  2. Thank you for the ultimate in blueberry muffins! You are a study in persistence!

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  3. These are surely the perfect blueberry muffins! I am making them for the second day in a row, right now! Thank you so much!

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  4. Mmm...baking some of these this morning. Can't wait.

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  5. Thank you! They are fantastically delicious!!!!

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  6. Just made these and they came out scrumptious....Thanks A Bunch♡

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  7. Has anyone tried apple sauce for part or all of the oil. Perhaps melted butter? These just tasted like vegetable oil to us.

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    1. I use 1/2 applesauce, 1/2 oil. I deliver these to several elderly friends at least twice a month. They RAVE about them.

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    2. I felt the same way! Definitely needed something else

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    3. I just did all the oil with applesauce and they turned out wonderful!!

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  8. These became an instant family favorites!!! Thank you much for the recipe!!!!! I also made an "Orange Raspberry" variation of this recipe. I substituted the milk for fresh squeezed orange juice and the blueberries for fresh raspberries. I also added a tablespoon on orange zest, for a punch of flavor. They were delicious!!! Thank again for the recipe!!! Much success!!!

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  9. I made these for my sweetheart before we were even engaged. Its something we still smile about. Thank you the muffins are superb!

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  10. I found these searching through a ton of different recipes looking for THE ONE and these looked and sounded fantastic so I just pulled a batch out of my over 5 minutes ago and they look phenomenal! I can't wait for the kids to get home and try!

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  11. These muffins didn't quite work for me. Not sure if I went wrong somewhere in my measurements, usually I am very meticulous about these things. Sure they were moist but they tasted like they had WAY too much sour cream. It completely overpowered the muffin. My boyfriend wouldn't eat them, I ended up throwing them out :(

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    1. Same for us. I don't think 1/2 cup was needed. They smell and look great but the taste isn't there. I am going to try again and either leave that out or use less

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    2. Mine too! Too doughy. Wont make again.

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    3. Same thing here. Not the best, in my opinion.

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    4. I used yogurt. It was all I had on hand. They came out really good.

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    5. Agree - rather blah - I used canola - think some butter, maybe also applesauce - something for some flavor

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  12. What about using canola oil vs vegetable oil? Will that make a difference? My muffins were tasty but felt very heavy and were dense....not cake like.

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  13. What about using canola oil vs vegetable oil? Will that make a difference? My muffins were tasty but felt very heavy and were dense....not cake like.

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  14. I doubled the recipe. Used large muffin cups. The bottom did not cook through. Tops did not rise. 🥺 I just bought the baking powder one day ago. What went wrong????!??

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  15. This is a Pintrest success. When you wake up at 7:30 in the morning and want blueberry muffin you make them! Because this was on a fly and I have a weird milk allergy - I had to make a few subs. I did use nonfat plain greek yogurt instead of the sour cream and I had to use sweet cream natural creamer as a sub for milk (that weird milk allergy - don't keep milk around too much.) The muffins were great! Great recipe!

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  16. This is the perfect blueberry muffin recipe! My whole family loves them! I made them in a mini muffin tin and baked them at the same temp for about 12 minutes. I also love your pumpkin bread recipe! I’ve been making it for several years.

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    1. Thank you the information, I am too, using mini muffin pan,

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  17. I will never try a different recipe.
    The best blueberry muffins ever.

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  18. Made these about 30 mins ago. I subbed buttermilk for the milk and they were sheer perfection! I put turbinado sugar on the tops. I’m going to try the base recipe with chocolate chips next (for the picky people lol) Thank you!

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  19. I mentioned earlier in a reply that I bake these about twice a month and deliver them to some elderly friends in a retirement home. I picked the blueberries for jam but started making these. Now I have none left for jam :) But the ladies LOVE them and all of their friends are jealous. They want me to start a bakery. I told them that would mean work, and this is a labor of love. Thank you for this delicious recipe. (I use 1/2 applesauce and 1/2 oil. That's the only substitution I make. And I always leave some out for my husband since he's so kind to wash the dishes.

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    1. Me too! The apple sauce keeps them perfectly moist without the extra fat.

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  20. I just made this recipe and it was so easy and the muffins are so good!

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  21. Just the right amount of ingredients. Turned out beautifully and taste great!

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  22. They were a great hit for breakfast this weekend. They were the perfect amount of sweetness!

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  23. Absolutely the best!!! I use a stick of butter in place of oil. Family loved them!!

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  24. I made these muffins and accidentally added too much flour and 2 eggs, instead of 1. But you know what? They were still good! Lol.

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  25. Can these be premade and if so, what’s the shelf life in a sealed container?

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  26. These were a bit bland in the batter area. Needs a little more sugar.

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  27. Aloha! I just made these following the recipe to the tee. Baked in my vintage Wagner Ware popover pan, the recipe made (11) perfect, sparkly topped, not-too-sweet anytime treats.😋

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  28. This was so good! I added some lemon zest for blueberry lemon muffins!

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  29. I had to sub the sour cream with cream cheese because that was all I had and they came out decent. I also only had 2oz of cream cheese so I’m going to try this again with the correct amount of cream and see how it taste. Maybe sun for butter too. I’m a butter person.

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  30. Made them tonight bc my blueberries were starting to get soft. They were delicious. I followed the recipe as is… didn’t change a thing. Made 12 smaller ones. They came out perfect. 👍

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  31. Made this recipe and it’s a Keeper!! My only change is having to bake them longer than recommended but often ovens vary! 5 stars

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  32. I was looking to make muffins as my blueberries were starting to get wrinkly and came across this recipe. I used gluten free 1 for 1 flour as I had it open for a recipe I made for a family member. I, also, used 1/2 oil and 1/2 applesauce and used homemade yogurt (had just enough left). These came out great! You'd never guess they were gluten free. Thank you for this recipe!

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  33. Can I use buttermilk instead of sour cream or yogurt?

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  34. I doubled recipe and used butter instead of oil.. I am not a fan.. Too dense and not really any flavor. Some are crumbly.. I am an avid baker. Not sure what I did wrong. Maybe mixed too much?

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    1. Yeah mine came out bland tasting like cornbread with blueberries in it won’t be making this again

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  35. I have used this muffin recipe at least a dozen times now! Every few weeks my boyfriend is requesting me to make another batch. They are very moist and taste absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for sharing this treasure with us!!!

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  36. These are such a easy recipe. I put flaxseed in these also very moist family loves them.

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  37. Hi, just wanted to point out that there’s a discrepancy in the amount of sugar the recipe calls for between your website and the Pinterest preview (before you click the link). One lists 2/3 cup and the other shows 3/4 cup.

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    1. I used 3/4 cups of sugar. And added lemon zest. I think 3/4 is a good amount.

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  38. These were amazing! I will definitely make again. I’ve never tried it with sour cream. It definitely made them super moist.

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  39. I live at 7000 ft and have almost given up on baking bc of disappointment with altitude issues. Then a friend here made these without changes and they were beautifully amazing. Just got the link from her! Yippee!! Thank you!!

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  40. These were perfection!

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  41. I’ve made your muffins more times than I can count and love them! I do however make substitution with oil - I use butter!!!

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  42. Can we make without muffin cups

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    1. I have before just spray your baking pan well!

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  43. Oh so good! I made them last week and my hub asked me to make them again, great recipe! Used exact ingredients but baked for 35 minutes.

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  44. Thank you thank you thank you!!! These are the best blueberry muffins ever! My husband and I loooove them so much! Also while I am here let me rave about your secretly healthy banana bread! You know the one with the chocolate chips :) Sooo moist (I make them into muffins) and I don't cook them too much so the chocolate is gooey.....to die for!!

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  45. These are sooo good!!! I make them all the time. Today I added 2 T of fresh squeezed lemon juice and rind as well which only made them better!

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  46. Great recipe: used cinnamon applesauce for all oil & made milk into buttermilk by adding vinegar. These were amazing!! Thanks for sharing

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  47. Mine are in the oven puffing up nicely and looking scrumptious. Can’t wait to taste them !

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  48. I tried the recipe, and it is a KEEPER! I will be sharing on my website and tag you in it! (Chefshugarandspice.com) I am currently building the website myself so when I open up you will definitely be a name and website to mention!! thanks for sharing!!

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  49. Came out yummy

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  50. The best! I did add a small amount of lemon zest because I love lemon and blueberries. This is a keeper!!! Thank you!’

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  51. Can oatmilk be used in place of regular milk??

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  52. These are so delicious! I used melted coconut oil in place of vegetable oil and hooooly cow. So good it’s hard not to eat the batter 😂

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  53. Just finished a batch and tried one these are definitely a keeper! I baked it a little bit longer about 5minutea to get a browner top, thanks I've been looking for a quick and delicious go to since last year and this was it

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  54. Oh boy, I got up early this morning excited about making these muffins. Made a couple of mistakes 😂. I forgot the sour cream and I reduced the sugar to 2/3 cup. What was I thinking… I can’t believe they turned out perfect!!! Now the oil made the liner very oily not the flavor still good.

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  55. These were a hit at our home! I didn’t have sour cream/yogurt so I used evaporated milk and I went for 1.5 cups of blueberries and they were legendary!! Definitely wish I had made more.

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  56. Just made these! They are divine. I’m going to try to freeze the batter for the winter.

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  57. Just baked these to use the rest of the blueberries from our backyard. I’ve never baked blueberry muffins before and these are dynamite! So moist and yummy! Thanks for the recipe!

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  58. Just baked these, used King Arthur measure for measure GF flour, I always use this flour for GF recipes. Soo good. I added lemon zest, not enough, but followed the recipe exact. Light , moist muffin. Will make again and again. Going to try choc chips.

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  59. I made these muffins today for my Son, he said they were great, but wanted a bit more sweet. Do you have a suggestion on how much sugar I should use for them to be a little sweeter? They were beautiful, just like the pictures.

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  60. These were so good! My partner even asked for the recipe so when he wants to bake he’ll make these! Thanks so much for sharing! ❤️

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  61. These are not good. Tried em’ out and I think like one person said the sour cream is too much. I wanted a good baked pastry blueberry muffin not just soft bread with hint of blueberry.

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    1. I wish I read your comment before I made these 🥹

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  62. I KNEW these would not rise yet I decided to make them because in the pictures look fluffy and risen.

    Contains too much moist, just milk alone weighs them down. Adding yogurt or sour cream would just make it worse.

    I liked that they weren't overly sweet when I tried them.

    Also, 1 cup of blueberries was way too many.

    I did not like the texture, felt like I was eating a cheesecake with flour.

    Picture looks amazing, hard to believe that's how they turned out.

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    1. You have done something wrong if they did not rise. Mine rise every single time and I follow the recipe exact!

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  63. Thank you for your devotion. These are SO good!

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  64. These are wonderful! I substituted
    Vegetable oil for coconut and sour cream for vanilla greek yogurt.

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  65. I just made these and they turned out beautifully. I made 24 mini muffins, baked at 350 degrees because I used a dark nonstick pan, and baked for about 18 minutes. Also, I subbed 5% Fage Greek yogurt for the sour cream. I also used blueberries which were a bit on the large side and wished I had used smaller blueberries because in a mini muffin I only got 1-2 blueberries. But a great base for all sorts of different muffin combinations and I will definitely make this recipe again!

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  66. These muffins are so bland.
    They need something, anything to make them less “midwest mayonnaise white woman” tasting.
    Maybe try some cinnamon, but I’ll be looking elsewhere for a better recipe.

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  67. Why are there so many Anonymous, are you commenting yourself, ecause there is no such thing as the " best" blueberry muffin recipe, they are good to you and only soso to me.

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  68. One of the BEST blueberry muffin recipes I have tried. So tender, moist, fluffy and flavorful! Thank you for the recipe. This will be my go to from now on.

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  69. These are really the best. I do not usually like cooked fruit or even blueberries at all (It's one of those things I have to be in the mood for lol) but I made them for school and they were so good. I used frozen blueberries and it was great. I did make a basic streusel instead of just doing the sugar due to instructions from my teacher, but the muffin itself was amazing. Thanks for the recipe!!

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  70. Made these today but found too moist and wet in centre even when I gave extra bake time. I followed recipe exactly. The batter texture was more cake like than muffin. Once out of oven they collapsed in centre, I didn’t add any extra sugar as the hints said this could cause them to collapse.

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  71. These turned out exactly as you described and are absolutely delicious! They won’t last long 😁👌

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  72. I added lemon zest and a splash of lemon flavoring. I cooked them an extra 3 minutes and still they were spongy and didn't raise well. The flavor was excellent though.

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  73. What if I don’t have all-purpose but self-rising flour instead?

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  74. Fantastic muffin recipe, I used melted butter instead of oil, first try with this recipe, thank you for sharing this recipe, will be making again for sure.

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  75. Oh my goodness. This recipe is absolutely delicious!!! I added a bit too much blueberries so the muffins were a bit heavy but the cake was soft and light and fluffy. I ended up making a second batch from how delicious these came out.

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  76. I loved this recipe so much! I had a lemon greek chobani yogurt that I used with the sour cream ( half and half!) Turned out good. Also mixed a little fresh lemon zest with the sugar on top!! This will be go to recipe from now on!!!

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  77. Hello! My family and I love this recipe and have been making it week after week! I was wondering though if this week could change up the blueberries for chocolate chips and it would be ok? Best muffin around so I want to use the same recipe!

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  78. I substituted the oil with coconut oil and they turned out amazing.
    The flavor is delightful. I am now ready to try the recipe with raspberries as well. My husband raved about these!

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