Ultimate Blackberry Muffins

I LOVE muffins.  I love making them, I love unwrapping them, I love decapitating them and eating the top first, I love eating them period.  And when I found myself in my local grocer’s, faced with a box of delicious blackberries, I immediately knew what I wanted: blackberry muffins.  I toyed with the idea of scones for a bit, but ultimately returned to the congeniality of muffins.

Muffins are, by definition, a comfort food.  They’re moist, they’re warm, they level all of us to child status, and yet their form feels somehow more mature than that of the cookie.  These babies take work–you sculpt them in a way you don’t need to sculpt cookies (I’m all about the drop-cookie versus the palm-formed ball).  They’re a bit more elemental than scones, but they pack a powerful self-sufficient wallop that crusty scones can’t.  And while pancakes and waffles and other traditional breakfast fare may lay claim to hearts and nostalgic imaginations, the muffin is a here-and-now type of food that goes down perfectly well at any time of day.

And as for blackberries, well, you simply can’t go wrong with those.

Ultimate Blackberry Muffins

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 11 oz fresh blackberries, halved

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease/line muffin pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, butter, vanilla and sour cream.

Combine the two mixtures, using a few light strokes until the dry ingredients are moistened.  Add in the berries.  Do not overmix–the batter should not be smooth!

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 17-20 minutes until done.  Let cool before removing, especially if you are using a greased muffin tray instead of lined cups.

Enjoy!  Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or as an afternoon snack with tea.

-bisoux