Blueberry muffins have always been a favorite of mine. These bakery style blueberry swirl muffins have a great blueberry flavor throughout. With both a swirl of cooked blueberries and the pop of fresh blueberries, these muffins are also super moist and bursting with flavor.
I must admit, I’m not sure what took me so long to post these muffins. Of all the muffins I’ve tried over the years, blueberry has always been in my top 3, along with chocolate chip and pistachio muffins. These bakery style blueberry swirl muffins are packed with blueberry flavor. While cooking down some of the blueberries and adding them to the batter as a swirl is optional, you won’t be disappointed with it.
This recipe worked so well that it’s also become my base muffin recipe. With only a few changes, such as almond extract instead of vanilla, and the addition of lemon, this is the same base used in my strawberry rhubarb streusel muffins. I made these blueberry muffins in a 12-count muffin pan because I planned to share them with more people, but for a true bakery style muffin, I love making them as jumbo muffins too.
A great thing about muffins as opposed to cupcakes, is that ones like this bakery style blueberry swirl muffin are perfect for a quick breakfast or a snack. They’re also very versatile and you can easily swap a different fruit for a quick change up. While blueberries are a hit summer favorite, these blueberry muffins are great any time of year.
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🥘 Ingredients
The list may seem like a lot of ingredients, but muffins typically use a lot of pantry staples, with the addition of the specific fruits or other fillings needed.
Flour – All-purpose flour is fine here. While I like cake flour in cupcakes, I prefer the higher protein in all-purpose for muffins.
Leaveners – A pinch of baking soda and some baking powder in combination help to give muffins their rise.
Fat – A combination of both unsalted butter and neutral oil works well in muffins. The butter adds flavor, while the oil adds more moisture without developing too much gluten formation.
Sugar – Both white granulated and brown sugar help to sweeten these muffins, plus a little extra for cooking down the blueberries.
Eggs – Two large eggs at room temperature for moisture.
Milk – Adds moisture as well. Any milk is fine here.
Sour Cream – Adds both moisture and tang, could also substitute with additional milk or unflavored yogurt instead. Use full-fat sour cream or yogurt for the best results.
Extract – I prefer just a bit of vanilla extract to balance the flavors here.
Blueberries – A typical pint of blueberries is fine here, which is usually 11 ounces or approximately 2 cups. You’ll cook down one cup and leave the other cup whole. If using frozen blueberries, don’t thaw them first. If you want, you can wash them and pat them dry to avoid blueish-green muffins, but that’s more an aesthetic issue than flavor.
🔪 How to Make
Preheat your oven to 425°F / 220°C and prepare a muffin pan with either liners or baking spray.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add 1 cup of the blueberries and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Cook this down, smashing the blueberries until thickened and reduced, like making cranberry sauce. You should end up with ¼ cup or so of sauce. Set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set it aside. In another mixing bowl add the sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, and oil and whisk to combine until the sugars are mostly dissolved.
Now whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Finally, add in the sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract and whisk to combine again.
Reserve a tablespoon of the dry mixture, and then add the rest to the wet ingredients. Whisk until just combined. Toss the blueberries with the reserved flour mixture and then add to the muffin batter. Gently fold them into the batter.
Fill the prepared muffin pan with the batter, all the way to the top, then add 1 teaspoon of the blueberry sauce to the middle. With a toothpick, swirl the blueberry sauce into the batter. Top with a coarse sugar like demerara or turbinado. Place into the oven and bake for 5 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350°F / 180°C and continue baking another 18-20 minutes.
Once cooked, remove from the oven, and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes or so, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
📖 Variations
While these bakery style blueberry swirl muffins are great as is, there’s several things you can add or swap for a different flavor.
No-Swirl – If you’d rather make easier, traditional blueberry muffins, omit cooking down the blueberries into a sauce. Just add the entire 2 cups of blueberries to the batter when ready to fold them in.
Streusel Topping – If you enjoy streusel or crumb toppings on your muffins, skip the sugar topping and add that instead. See my strawberry rhubarb streusel muffins for the ingredients and directions.
Lemony Blueberry Muffins – If you like the combination of blueberry and lemon, add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest to the batter. You can also mince another ½ teaspoon of lemon zest and mix it with the sugar topping.
Other Berries – Using the base recipe, you can also swap out the blueberries for other berries like strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, or cranberries.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, most muffins are not healthy. They tend to be packed with sugar and other fats and are usually made with all-purpose flour which doesn’t have many nutrients. You can make a few changes like making whole wheat muffins, less sugar, or a sugar substitute, and using Greek yogurt, but in general muffins aren’t going to become a health food.
Also, please don’t make the above changes 1:1 to this or any other muffin recipe. Search for recipes specifically made with those types of ingredients or you can end up with dense, under or overbaked, crumbly muffins.
Yes, but don’t thaw them. Use them straight from the freezer and fold them into the batter. Alternatively, you can rinse them in running water and pat them dry to avoid adding a blueish-green color to the muffins as they bake. That does remove a little flavor though and is only an aesthetic choice.
First, unlike cupcakes, fill the muffin pan to the top with batter. Starting the muffins on a high temperature also gives the baking powder an initial boost for a quick rise, then lowering the temperature helps to bake them evenly.
🍽 Equipment
While most equipment is standard kitchen tools, I wanted to point out just a handful of items I prefer to use here.
Whisk – While I like using a balloon whisk for most of the mixing, Danish dough whisks are perfect anytime you need to fold in softer ingredients like the blueberries here.
Muffin Pans – In the photos I use a hand-me-down set of muffin tins, but if you need to buy new ones, I recommend this 12-count muffin pan from USA Pans, or this 6-count Jumbo muffin tin from the same company.
❄️ How to Store
Muffins can typically be stored at room temperature for about 2-3 days. If you store them in an airtight container, they’ll last 5 days or so in the refrigerator.
For longer storage, you can store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2-3 months as well. Can thaw overnight in the fridge.
📋 Recipe
Bakery Style Blueberry Swirl Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup white granulated sugar, plus 2 teaspoons, divided
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup milk, at room temperature
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups blueberries, 1 11-ounce pint
- Coarse sugar for topping, like demerara or turbinado
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F / 220°C and prepare a muffin pan with either liners or baking spray.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add 1 cup of the blueberries and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Cook this down, smashing the blueberries until thickened and reduced, like making cranberry sauce. You should end up with ¼ cup or so of sauce. Set aside to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set it aside. In another mixing bowl add ½ cup white granulated sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, melted ¼ cup unsalted butter, and ¼ cup vegetable oil and whisk to combine until the sugars are mostly dissolved.
- Now whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Finally, add in the ½ cup sour cream, ½ cup milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and whisk to combine again.
- Reserve a tablespoon of the dry mixture, and then add the rest to the wet ingredients. Whisk until just combined. Toss the blueberries with the reserved flour mixture and then add to the muffin batter. Gently fold them into the batter.
- Fill the prepared muffin pan with the batter, all the way to the top, then add 1 teaspoon of the blueberry sauce to the middle. With a toothpick, swirl the blueberry sauce into the batter. Top with a coarse sugar like demerara or turbinado. Place into the oven and bake for 5 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350°F / 180°C and continue baking another 18-20 minutes.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven, and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes or so, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
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