High-Altitude Blueberry Muffins

This super simple, classic version of a blueberry muffin gives you fluffy, soft muffins with tons of blueberries and it’s the perfect thing to treat yourself with throughout the week.

The base of these muffins is one of my simplest recipes that uses an odd mixing method, but it results in muffins that have the perfect cake-like texture and just the right amount of sweetness.

How to Make High-Altitude Blueberry Muffins

This recipe uses really simple ingredients overall. I like to use frozen wild blueberries in these muffins because they are a little smaller than what you can find fresh, which gives you lots of little berries running throughout the muffins evenly.

I’m using a really simple base recipe for these muffins that actually works well as a cake recipe. We’re adding in some vegetable oil and sour cream to amp up the tenderness as well.

For this recipe, you essentially mix together all the cake ingredients at once until they are just combined. It’s an odd method, but it works well here when it comes to avoiding over-mixing. You want to mix just until there are no dry pockets of flour, and then fold in the remaining flour along with the blueberries to ensure they don’t sink to the bottom as they bake.

We’re going to let the batter rest for about 30 minutes before baking which helps activate the baking powder and give the muffins a little more rise.

Once it’s time to bake, you want to sprinkle granulated sugar all over the tops of each muffin before baking, which gives them a lightly crisp, sweet topping.

Bake until you’ve got golden brown, fluffy muffins and enjoy! These are some of my favorites, and definitely my favorite version of high-altitude blueberry muffins. They don’t rise too much, but they have the most amazing texture and they are so easy to make.

Tips & Tricks for High-Altitude Blueberry Muffins

Here are my tips to help along the way for this recipe:

• Why does this recipe use both butter and oil? The butter helps give the muffins the perfect flavor, while the oil adds moisture.
• Do I really just mix everything together at once? Yes, it’s an odd mixing method that I use occasionally and it works well here. You want to mix the main batter ingredients together at once to avoid over-mixing, and then gently fold in the remaining flour and blueberries together.
• Do I have to use frozen blueberries? No, you can also use fresh here if you prefer. I like to use the frozen wild blueberries because they are smaller, which gives you lots of tiny berries running throughout each muffin.
• Can I skip the resting period? I recommend resting these muffins to help the baking powder activate. These muffins don’t give you super tall domed tops, but this step helps them rise a little higher, and gives everything a chance to rest.
• How do I know when the muffins are finished baking? The muffins should be golden brown all over the top, and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin should come out mostly clean, with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
• Can I double this recipe? Yes, you can easily double this recipe to make 18 muffins with no other changes- you just may have to bake in batches depending on how many pans you have.
• Can I use this recipe to make mini muffins? Yes, you can make mini blueberry muffins using this recipe. You should end up with about 18-24 muffins depending on the size of your tin, and they will bake faster so start checking them after about 12 minutes.
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level, and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft. above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

Print

High-Altitude Blueberry Muffins

Servings 9 muffins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 tbs. vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tbs. sugar separated
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 cups flour separated
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tbs. milk
• 1 1/2 cups frozen wild blueberries

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, beat together the melted butter, vegetable oil, 3/4 cup sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, sour cream, 1 cup flour, baking powder, salt, and milk until just combined and no dry pockets of flour remain. This is an odd method, but trust the process!

2. Then add in the frozen blueberries and remaining 1/4 cup of flour together, folding gently until just distributed through the batter.

3. Cover the bowl with plastic and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a muffin tin with 9 paper liners.
4. Once the batter has fully rested, divide the batter evenly between 9 muffin cups- the cups should be fairly full. Generously sprinkle the tops of each muffin with the remaining sugar.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and the tops are lightly golden brown all over. Cool the muffins in the pan before serving. Enjoy!

Nicole Hampton

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!