This post is sponsored by the Oregon Blueberry Growers. Grab a Boost of Blue during the winter months by using frozen Oregon blueberries in your baking.
If you love a good muffin then try these Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins because they're absolutely delicious. They're made with whole wheat flour, brown sugar and filled with plenty of Oregon blueberries for a nice fruity treat in the morning or afternoon in less than an hour.
At the beginning of the year, most of us want to change our eating after the indulgences of the holiday season. And this is why I was excited to team up with Oregon Blueberry Growers to create these moist and flavorful blueberry muffins.
These blueberry whole wheat muffins feature whole wheat pastry flour, prune puree to replace part of the sugar, and plenty of delicious Oregon blueberries. You can also use blueberries in my Raspberry Prune Bread recipe and replace the raspberries with frozen blueberries.
Why This Recipe Tastes So Good
This blueberry muffin recipe is made with Bob's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour, which adds a nutty taste to the muffin, and part of the sugar is replaced with homemade prune puree which replaces part of the sugar while adding plenty of flavor. Frozen blueberries are used straight from the freezer for intense blueberry flavor and that liquid bursts when you bite into the muffin. The combination of ingredients results in one of the best whole wheat blueberry muffin recipes. They're moist, flavorful, and packed with blueberries.
Blueberries: The Year Round Fruit
Blueberries are a summer fruit and I buy them weekly when they're in season. But during the winter months, I turn to frozen blueberries for smoothies, pancakes, and muffins. The blueberries are frozen very quickly after being picked which means that they retain their flavor and nutrition. They taste great in pancakes and in my Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe.
Oregon is one of the top producers in the U.S. If you're looking for more recipe ideas check out the Oregon Blueberry Commission site where you'll find plenty of recipe ideas - both sweet and savory.
Blueberry Whole Wheat Muffin Recipe Ingredients
These are the ingredients you'll need for these blueberry muffins:
- Frozen Blueberries. I used frozen blueberries for this recipe since I'm making them during the winter. Look for larger berries because they tend to be sweeter.
- Whole Wheat Flour. I use Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry flour for this recipe which produces a light muffin with nice nutty taste. You can also use White Whole Wheat Flour.
- Prunes. Prunes are pureed with a little water to create a prune puree that adds moisture to the muffin and replaces part of the sugar.
How to Make These Delicious Blueberry Muffins
This is an easy blueberry muffin recipe. These blueberry muffins are made with the Muffin Method. The wet and dry ingredients are mixed together in separate bowls. The dry ingredients are then added to wet ingredients and gently mixed together.
Start the recipe by measuring out all your ingredients - this is called mise en place. The French translation is "setting up" and in terms of cooking it means everything in its place. This step ensures that you don't accidentally forget an ingredient.
Soak the prunes in boiling water and then puree them in a mini food processor. You should have 1/2 cup of prune puree.
Toast the almonds and then coarsely chop them in a mini-food processor. If you don't have a food processor place them in a freezer bag and pound them with a rolling pin to crush them.
Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and whisk for 30 seconds to ensure everything is well combined and the baking powder is evenly distributed.
Place the brown sugar in a bowl. Add the oil and zest the lemon into the sugar. This ensures that you capture the lemon oil and zest and maximize the flavor. Whisk the ingredients together.
Add the eggs and pureed prunes to the sugar and whisk until smooth. Small pieces of the prunes puree will be visible and that's okay. Then add the buttermilk and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Add the flour mixture in two batches and gently fold it into the batter until most of the flour is mixed in. The batter will be a little lumpy.
Next add the blueberries and gently fold them in and the remaining flour until no bits of flour remain.
Baking the Blueberry Muffins
Line the muffin pan with the muffin cup paper liners. If you don't have muffin cup liners, melt some butter and use a pastry brush to brush each muffin tin making sure to get the corners.
Divide the batter between the muffin tins. Top the batter with 3 or 4 additional blueberries and some of the sliced almonds.
Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes at 400F until the center of the muffins register at 200-205°F. I use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature. You can also use a cake skewer to test for doneness.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Measure your flour correctly. Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake and can result in dry muffins. The best way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have a scale then fluff your flour with a fork, and spoon it into a measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- If you’re not using paper liners make sure to butter the wells of your muffin tin thoroughly. Let your blueberry muffins cool for at least 10 minutes before removing.
- Baking the muffins at 400F is what creates the dome top of the muffin.
- Prune puree adds sweetness and moisture and a lovely fruity taste, but don't replace more than half the sugar with the puree.
Frozen blueberries are readily available in the freezer section of your grocery store so I hope you'll give this recipe a try. If you try this recipe please leave a comment below and send a picture. As always if you have a question about the recipe don't hesitate to ask.
If You Love This Recipe, Try These Delicious Recipes
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Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
Prune Puree
- 1/2 cup (85 grams) prunes
- 1 cup (120 ml) boiling water
Blueberry Muffin Batter
- 3/4 cup (90 grams) sliced almonds
- 1-3/4 cups (220 grams) Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour + 1 tablespoon for the blueberries
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) packed light brown sugar
- Zest from one medium lemon
- 2 larage (100 grams) eggs room temperature
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk room temperature
- 12 ounces (340 grams) frozen blueberries
Instructions
Making the Muffin Batter
- Add the prunes to a bowl and pour a cup of boiling over the prunes. Let them sit from 15 minutes until soft.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toast the sliced almonds for 5 minutes or until lightly brown. Let the almonds cool to room temperature and then process 1/2 cup (60 grams) of the almonds in a mini food processor until roughly chopped.
- Increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Wipe out the food processor bowl and add the prunes and 4 tablespoons of the water that the prunes were soaking in. Process the mixture until the prunes are pureed and liquified. There will still be some small pieces of prune and that is okay.
- Place the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, and chopped almonds in a medium-sized bowl and whisk for 30 seconds to combine.
- Place the brown sugar and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Zest the lemon directly on top of the sugar. Whisk until the sugar is coated with the oil and begins to dissolve. Add the eggs and prune puree and whisk until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Add the buttermilk and whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Add the flour mixture in two batches and use a silicone spatula to mix in the dry ingredients.
- Place 8 ounces of the blueberries in a bowl and toss them with 1 tablespoon of the whole wheat flour. Add the blueberries to the batter and fold the blueberries into the batter.
Bake the Muffins
- Evenly divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Place the remaining blueberries on top of the unbaked muffins and gently press them into the top of the muffin. Decorate the top of the muffins with the remaining sliced almonds. Make sure the almond slices are laying flat and not sticking up. If they are sticking up they will burn as the muffins bake.
- Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes until the center of the muffins are done. Test for doneness by sticking a toothpick into one of the muffins. There should be no batter on the toothpick. A few crumbs are okay.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes into the pan. Serve the muffins warm with butter.
Store the Muffins
- The muffins are good for one day at room temperature in an airtight container. After 1 day store the muffins in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in a covered container.
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