on blueberries. but mostly: on muffins.

Part 1: On blueberries.

I sort of have a love-hate relationship with blueberries. I'm generally rather fond of them, but I tend to get bored of them pretty easily. Since we split our CSA share with another couple and alternate weeks, I seem to be on the blueberry rotation. Pints and pints of blueberries have been accumulating in my refrigerator. I can hardly find anything in there, stacks of blueberries obscure my vision, taunting me. They have never seemed less appetizing. 

{photo via nytimes.com -- blueberries are rather pretty, aren't they?}

I couldn't face any more blueberry pancakes, I didn't want them in fruit salad or in my cereal, blended into a smoothie or mixed in with yogurt. My husband kept requesting blueberry muffins, but I just felt kinda "meh." about the thought of them. But this morning, opening the fridge and finding two pints of blueberries staring pitifully back at me ... I broke down and headed to the Internet in search of a decent blueberry muffin recipe.

I was looking for one that had either a streusel or some sort of crumb topping -- and just maybe something a bit more interesting than your standard blueberry muffin recipe. I had tried this earlier, with less than stellar-results, but Google must have had my back this morning, because I came across this: "Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins" from Joy the Baker.

Behold:

{fresh baked muffins in all their glory.}

Part 2: On muffins and hunger pains.

You know when you're starving at the airport because you've been traveling all day or maybe you're out running errands in your car somewhere or perhaps you're just completely exhausted after a long day ... and you wind up in some coffee place, because it's the only place you can find, and you just want something really good and perhaps even a little healthy to eat? Just a nice meal with some lovely fresh vegetables and some protein and a salad and absolutely a little dessert, too -- but you content yourself with the coffee shop, since it's all you can find.

But the only food they're serving is a huge, glistening blueberry muffin the size of a mountain. And you think to yourself -- okay, maybe this time the muffin will taste good. Maybe, even though I don't want anything sweet right now because all I've had to eat today is three lattes and some random candy I found at the bottom of my purse and I'd just like some actual FOOD now, please ... maybe, just MAYBE this muffin will be exactly what I want.

So you imagine what it will taste like, and you're feeling pretty confident because the muffin looks gorgeous with its crumbly topping and it's tantalizing blue blueberries - it's like the model blueberry muffin: the pinnacle of muffin-ness, straight out of a stock photo catalog of muffins. It is what all muffins hope and dream and lie awake at night, aspiring to be. And so you start to try and convince yourself - you pick up the muffin confidently and pay for it and think that you're finally going to conquer your hunger ...

And then you take a bite and it's awful and dry and tastes like cardboard and chemicals. It's so sweet that it makes your teeth ache. And it just makes you want that nice little home cooked meal even more. And you shed a few tears over your muffin. The muffin that betrayed you.

But then this sorrow turns to anger - you become irrationally angry at the muffin for deceiving you - because it looked so good! So yummy! But it wasn't. The muffin lied to you. And now you're ruined for muffins forever. You cannot even look at muffin recipes or imagine a time when you would want to make such a thing; you shake your head "no" when they're offered at your next continental breakfast; you walk past them at the bakery. Until the next time that you're wandering through an airport terminal, bleary-eyed and clutching your rumbling stomach ...

It's time to forget all that. It's time to move on.

Part 3: On embracing the blueberry muffin within.

{the muffins that heal all wounds. or at least hunger-related ones.}

Because this muffin recipe? This will make up for it. This will restore your faith in muffins. Forever. I had started to lose hope, I thought I might never like another blueberry muffin ever again. But this recipe has turned things around for me.

I think it's the browned butter. I had never browned butter before, but I brushed aside my nervousness and confidently plonked my seven tablespoons of butter right down there in my small saucepan, turned on the heat and began melting.

Browned Butter Fresh Blueberry Muffins

from Joy the Baker & The Gourmet Cookbook

makes 12 glorious muffins (I actually made about 14 -- I always seem to wind up with extra batter)

Browned Butter Fresh Blueberry Muffins

adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

makes 12 glorious muffins

• 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup whole milk (I used skim, since that's all I had.)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries

For the Topping

• 3 Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I ended up using salted butter, since I mistakenly thought I still had another stick of unsalted)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Put a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper or foil liners

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Keep an eye on the butter. Melt and cook down the butter until little brown bits appear in the pan. The crackling will subside and butter will begin to brown fairly quickly after that. Keep a close eye. Remove from heat.

Whisk milk, egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add the brown butter and stir to combine.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk and butter mixture all at one and stir gently to combine. Gently but thoroughly fold in the blueberries.

Divide the batter among muffin cups and spread evenly.

To make the topping combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the cups.

Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes then remove from the pan.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

The whole recipe came together very easily, which was great. No fuss - nothing really tricky or time-consuming. In no time at all I was happily rewarding my husband with two, fresh from the oven muffins, since he had spent the morning weeding and doing all manner of useful things in the garden while I made our kitchen a complete mess with my baking, and waxed philosophic on my blog about airport hunger-induced muffin hysteria.

Thank you, Joy the Baker, thank you.

But seriously. Best blueberry muffins ever. Go make these, now!!