Lavender Wild Berry Muffins
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Growing up, some weekday mornings were far more special than the others. My mom is a teacher, and somehow in her mad rush to get my sister and I up, dressed, fed, and out the door, she occasionally found the time to bake muffins for breakfast and those were the very best mornings. You knew it was muffin day right when you opened your eyes because that freshly baked smell wafted through the house, greeting you as you rolled out of the bed. My absolute favorite muffins were these little wild berry muffins, the dry ingredients coming in a little pouch tucked in next to the cornbread mix on the bottom row of the grocery store shelves. I’ve also always wondered how likely it was that a packaged muffin mix actually used wild-grown berries, they probably should have been named mixed berry muffins, but the word wild made them feel even cooler. Regardless, we would split open the warm muffins, slather them with butter, and then wrap them in paper towels to eat in the car on the way to school. What a great way to start the day.
These are the muffins I make when I want to pretend I’m back in elementary school, eating muffins in the backseat. You can mix in any berries you want, wild or otherwise, frozen or fresh, just make sure that you go heavy on the berries. My ideal muffin is just a scoop of berries, barely bound together by batter. Most muffins are made using a liquid fat and the blending method, with the primary focus being moisture and tenderness. These muffins, however, are made using room temperature butter and the creaming method, like a cake, making them a tall and fluffy bakery-style muffin. I like to sprinkle them with just a bit of crunchy demerara sugar, but they would also be great with a crumb topping or even no topping at all. Don’t forget to finish them with a big pat of butter and a sprinkle of flaky salt.
Lavender Wild Berry Muffins
Yield: 15 muffins
Ingredients
1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (110 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (95 g) brown sugar
1 tbsp dried lavender
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 g) whole milk
2 tbsp whole milk yogurt
1 1/3 cup (about 200 g) mixed berries, frozen or fresh
demerara sugar for sprinkling, optional
Procedure
Preheat oven to 350° F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and lavender and rub with your fingers until fragrant and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add a tablespoon of the flour mixture to the berries and toss to coat. In a glass measuring cup, combine milk and yogurt. Set all of this aside for now.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar and lavender mixture. Cream on medium speed until light and fluffy and no chunks of butter remain. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
With the mixer on low speed, add eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and mix until smooth and homogenous.
With the mixer on low speed, alternate between adding the dry ingredients and the milk/yogurt mixture, starting and ending with dry ingredients (dry-wet-dry-wet-dry).
When the last of the dry ingredients have been added, remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape down the sides to ensure everything is well-combined. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the berries until they are evenly distributed.
Use a large cookie scoop to portion batter into your prepared muffin cups, sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes until muffins are tall and golden brown, and a knife or toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool slightly and then enjoy warm, split open and slathered with lots of butter and flaky salt.
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