Blueberry Muffins (Reduced Sugar)
By America's Test KitchenPublished on April 14, 2020
Time
1 hour, plus 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Makes 12 muffins
Sugar
11 grams (down from 20)
Ingredients
Before You Begin
You can learn more about Sucanat in this article. You can skip grinding the Sucanat in step 1; however, the muffins will have a speckled appearance. Low-fat yogurt can be substituted for the whole-milk yogurt, but the muffins will be slightly drier. Frozen blueberries can be substituted for the fresh blueberries.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12-cup muffin tin. Working in 2 batches, grind Sucanat in spice grinder until fine and powdery, about 1 minute.
- Melt 6 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly, until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer browned butter to large bowl and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter until melted; let cool slightly.
- Whisk yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and orange zest into browned butter until smooth. In large bowl, whisk ground Sucanat, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cloves together until combined. Using rubber spatula, stir in yogurt mixture until combined. Fold in blueberries.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean, 22 to 27 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking.
- Let muffins cool in tin for 20 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Time
1 hour, plus 20 minutes coolingYield
Makes 12 muffinsSugar
11 grams (down from 20)Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
The first batches we made with a small amount of Sucanat came out of the oven looking a bit speckled, but otherwise beautiful: tall, nicely browned, and studded with juicy berries. After just one bite, however, we knew we had some work to do. They were dense and rubbery and, while the Sucanat lent some rich molasses flavor, the taste fell flat. We focused first on finding a way to re-create the light, tender crumb of the full-sugar muffins. We realized that decreasing the sugar had resulted in too much gluten structure, since sugar usually inhibits some gluten development. We hoped that swapping some of the all-purpose flour for lower-protein cake flour would solve the problem. We tested several flour ratios and found that cake flour alone produced the softest, most appealing texture. To amp up the flavor of the muffins, we browned the butter and added orange zest, cinnamon, and vanilla. Our muffins were almost perfect, but they were still coming out of the oven with speckled tops. Since the Sucanat wasn't completely dissolving in the batter, the granules were leaving marks as they melted in the oven. Pulverizing the Sucanat in a spice grinder easily solved this problem.
Before You Begin
You can learn more about Sucanat in this article. You can skip grinding the Sucanat in step 1; however, the muffins will have a speckled appearance. Low-fat yogurt can be substituted for the whole-milk yogurt, but the muffins will be slightly drier. Frozen blueberries can be substituted for the fresh blueberries.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12-cup muffin tin. Working in 2 batches, grind Sucanat in spice grinder until fine and powdery, about 1 minute.
- Melt 6 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly, until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer browned butter to large bowl and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter until melted; let cool slightly.
- Whisk yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and orange zest into browned butter until smooth. In large bowl, whisk ground Sucanat, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cloves together until combined. Using rubber spatula, stir in yogurt mixture until combined. Fold in blueberries.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean, 22 to 27 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking.
- Let muffins cool in tin for 20 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
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