Classic Comfort: Blueberry Muffins

Sometimes life calls for the simple pleasures, you know like when a hurricane is approaching. Over the weekend, I had a craving for blueberry muffins, so I turned to Smitten Kitchen for the perfect recipe. Light, cakey, not overly sweet, these were all the carb-laden comfort a girl could want. If you're looking to give one of these babies a second life, halve it, toast it under the broiler and slather it in butter. Amazing. It's a trick I learned from my college years spent eating in New York City diners.

Perfect Blueberry Muffins
Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen, Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, don’t bother defrosting)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then sour cream (or yogurt) and zest. Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a sifter and sift half of dry ingredients over batter. Mix until combined. Sift remaining dry ingredients into batter and mix just until the flour disappears. Gently fold in your blueberries. The dough will be quite thick, closer to a cookie dough, which is why an ice cream scoop is a great tool to fill your muffin cups. Fill each cup about 3/4 full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean. Let cool on rack. Makes 9 to 10 standard muffins.