Blueberries-and-Cream Mall Muffins

Our house is overflowing with frozen berries after a summer of nothing but berry picking:

raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.

And apparently, my mom likes muffins.

I always thought pound cake was her only preference.

Well, she also said flat muffins didn't taste as good as the huge mushroom cap muffins.


Right...

Anyhow... voilà!

Blueberries-and-Cream Mall Muffins

from A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman

2 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp each pure lemon and orange extract, optional
5 cups, approximately, all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
(to substitute: 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice + milk to make 1 cup; let sit for 5 - 10 minutes)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups semi-frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 425 F. Arrange oven rack to middle position (which is the upper third of many ovens).

Generously spray a 12-cup large or standard muffin pan or a 24-cup small muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and then line with paper muffin liners. Place pan on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

In a mixer bowl, blend sugar with oil and butter. Briskly add eggs, vanilla, and other extracts. Fold in 4 coups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend somewhat before next blending in buttermilk and sour cream. Batter should be quite thick; if not, add a touch more flour. Gently fold in berries with a spatula, trying not to break them apart.

Using a large ice-cream scoop, scoop a very large amount of batter into prepared muffin cups, loading them as full as you can. You need almost a scoop and a half of batter per cup. Dust tops of mussinw tiah little sugar. (optional)

Bake 15 minutes at 425°F (220°C); then reduce oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake until muffins are golden brown and spring back when gently pressed with fingertips, about 12 to 16 more minutes. Let col 5 minutes before removing from pan.

For two 8- x 4-inch loaves, bake at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes or more, using same fingertip test for doneness.